


Blood is Thicker

by angelofthequeers



Series: Variables [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action, Adorable Castiel, Adventure, Alternate Season/Series 03, Angels, Angst, Asexual Character, BAMF Adam, BAMF Castiel, BAMF Dean, BAMF Sam, Bisexual Dean, Blood, Blood and Gore, Canonical Character Death, Cool Dean, Demons, Dysfunctional Family, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Nephilim, Poor Adam, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Slash, Protective Dean, Resurrection, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-05-21 11:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6049174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelofthequeers/pseuds/angelofthequeers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam knew he messed up when he made that crossroads deal but hey, anything to save his mom. He just didn't realise what consequences this one action would lead to. Can Sam, Dean and Louise help him out of this mess? What changes will his presence make to the lives of those around him? And just why did Hell want to get their hands on him? Sequel to Chaos Theory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Deal with the Devil

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.
> 
> Welcome to the first chapter of 'Blood is Thicker'! So glad to finally be out of season 2 and into season 3! :D So I had this finished ages ago but didn't want to start posting until I finished fic 3, which I pretty much have, and got a head start on fic 4. Fic 3 is set in the interlude between S3-4 and fic 4 is…well, it's both S4 and S10, if that makes sense ;) But I will tell you, updates won't be daily like they were last fic.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam learns that all that glitters is probably black eyes and hellfire.

**Chapter 1. Deal with the Devil**

"You did _what_?"

"Calm down, Mom!"

" _Calm down_? My son is going to _Hell_! I will _not_ calm down! What on earth possessed you to make a deal with the Devil, Adam?"

"First off, she wasn't the Devil. She was a demon. And you would've done the same thing for me!"

"I'm your _mother_! It's my job to make all the sacrifices!"

"Well, maybe I wanted to sacrifice something for you for once!"

Kate pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What's dead should stay dead, Adam," she said softly. "You shouldn't have made that deal."

Adam scowled. Where was the gratefulness for making his own decision and being selfless? And she wouldn't be saying that if he'd been dead!

"Well, I did," he snapped. "And there's nothing any of us can do about it, so drop it."

He stormed into the hall and grabbed his jacket.

"I'm going for a walk."

Kate didn't answer him, so Adam just left. He shuffled down the sidewalk in the dimming evening light, feeling strangely numb about the prospect of going to Hell. Shouldn't he be panicking and fearing for his life?

"Adam!" Adam turned to see Lauren running towards him. Ever since her possession the previous day – by a demon, she called it, and Adam wasn't inclined to disbelieve her – she'd been quieter and more withdrawn. But they'd grown closer; after all, who else would believe her if she'd said that she was possessed by a demon?

"Hey, Lauren," he said with a small smile. When Lauren drew level with him, she threw her arms around him and gave him a tight hug.

"Did you tell your mom?" she said. "I stopped past and she was pretty upset."

"That's an understatement," Adam muttered.

"Aw. Be reasonable, Adam."

"Reasonable? She'd have done the same in my position!"

"Yeah but she's your mom. She's supposed to do that sort of stuff for you. And besides, you're her only son and now – now you're going to Hell! I can't believe it, Adam! You're really going to Hell!"

"Can you not remind me?" Adam said sharply. "It's not something I wanna think about."

Lauren bit her lip and nodded. They stood in awkward silence for a moment.

"I have to go," she said. "Mom and Dad want me to babysit Gina and I'm already late as it is. Just – try and understand your mom's position, okay?"

"Okay." Adam gave Lauren a small smile. "Thanks, Lo."

Lauren tucked a lock of brown hair behind her ear, smiled quickly at Adam and hurried off, looking all around her as she'd taken to doing lately. Adam couldn't blame her; being possessed would be enough to make anybody paranoid. But she was right. He had to make things right with his mom. He only had a year left with her!

As Adam turned into his street, a bad feeling settled in his gut. Frowning, he quickened his pace and shoved his front door open and gasped when he picked up the metallic, acrid smell of blood.

"Mom?" he said. Vividly reminded of yesterday, he sprinted to the kitchen and sighed in relief when he didn't find anything. But his relief was quickly snatched away when he entered the living room. "No! MOM!"

Once again, Kate was dead and lying in a pool of her blood. Standing over her was their burly next door neighbour, Steven – although the black eyes were definitely not normal.

"Hey, Adam," Not-Steve grinned. "You got here just in time."

"What the hell?" Adam cried. "A year! I was supposed to get a whole year with my mom! That was the deal!"

"Oh, that thing?" Not-Steve grinned. "Sorry, buddy. Read the fine print. The deal was that your mom would be brought back and you'd go downstairs in a year. It said nothing about her living once she was brought back."

Adam was frozen, his mouth open.

"But – but –" was all he could say. The demon rolled his eyes.

"End of the day, you're still going to Hell. If I were you, I'd turn around and walk away now. Or I'll kill you now and you can waltz on downstairs a year early."

"You lied to me," Adam whispered.

"Yeah. We're demons. We do that, kiddo." Not-Steve tightened his grip on the knife. "I'd run while I'm letting you. Because here's the thing. Technically, you get however many years you were given and then you get dragged downstairs. But, well…shit happens. That demon can't lay a finger on you but it don't say nothing about me."

Not-Steve advanced on Adam, his knife glinting threateningly. Adam whimpered and backed away until his back hit the wall, his eyes screwed shut. He was sixteen! He should be worrying about grades and girls and his boring teenage life, not being threatened by demons and his mom dying – twice – and getting killed and going to Hell! Just when he thought he was done for –

CLANG.

Adam opened his eyes. Standing in front of him was a woman with long, blonde hair and a short, jagged knife in her hand. She'd used this knife to block Not-Steve's and the demon was now staring at her with a terrible snarl.

" _You_! You traitor!" he hissed. Edging to the side a little, Adam saw a little smirk on the woman's face.

"Call me what you want," she drawled. "Doesn't change the fact that you're fucked."

She nimbly sidestepped, lunged and buried the knife deep in Not-Steve's chest. Adam saw his skeleton light up and glow orange as he jerked and when the woman removed her knife, he crumpled to the ground. Adam made a small noise.

"Is – is he –?"

"He's dead," the woman said shortly. "Sorry, kiddo. You wanna kill a demon, you gotta kill the meat suit."

Adam felt a pang of sorrow for Steve, who totally didn't deserve what had just happened to him!

"And – and Mom?"

The woman's face softened and she reached out and ruffled his hair.

"I'm sorry, Adam. Really, I am. But that douche was right. The deal was just to bring her back – there was nothing stopping them from coming back for her."

Adam felt his world shatter. This wasn't fair! He was going to Hell and his mom was still dead! He'd thrown his soul away for nothing! How was this fair?

"Wait," he said slowly. "How do you know my name?"

"Everybody knows you, Adam." The woman blinked and her eyes flashed black. Adam jumped, let out an exclamation and staggered back. "Calm down, shortie. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Sure!" Adam said hysterically. "Yeah, I'm sure you're not gonna hurt me!"

"If I wanted you dead, I'd have let Dumbass here shiv you," the demon said impatiently. "Would've made my job easier if that was the case – wouldn't get my hands dirty. But no. I stepped in to help you and by this time tomorrow, all of Hell's gonna know that I've gone AWOL. I'm fucked, Adam."

Adam shook his head. The demon sighed, reversed her grip on her knife and held it out to him hilt-first.

"There. Now you have the weapon that can kill me. Feel better now? Am I catering properly to your masculine pride?"

Adam reached out and slowly took the knife. He had to admit, it did make him feel better to have a weapon that could kill this demon if she tried to off him.

"Who the hell are you? And what do you want?"

The demon smiled.

"Ruby. My name's Ruby. And as for what I want? Well, all of Hell's talking about you, Adam Milligan. The kid with a year to live. Something big's coming up and you've got a role to play in it. I wanna make sure that you don't get iced."

"But why? You're a demon! I'm a human!"

Ruby chuckled.

"True. Sounds like the start to a bad romance, right? But I'm genuinely interested in you, Adam. See, nobody likes Hell. It's dark and bloody and fiery and trust me, it's _not_ where you wanna go. So I thought, 'Why don't I make sure I don't get my ass sent back there?' There are people out there called hunters, who hunt down anything supernatural – vampires, werewolves, ghosts. You name it, they hunt it. And if I run into them, they exorcise me and I get my ass sent back there."

Adam blinked.

"You remember that massive blackout and dust cloud in Wyoming a week ago? That was everyone in Hell trying to get out through the Devil's Gate that was opened. I was one of the lucky few that managed to claw their way out and I don't plan on going back any time soon. So if I help you, you help me. I help humans, I don't get sent back to Hell. You following me?"

"Survival," Adam muttered. Ruby nodded approvingly.

"There we are. I knew I was right in backing you."

"But what can you do to help, Ruby? I'm going to Hell no matter what I do. What difference does another year make?"

Ruby leaned in, her now-blue eyes gleaming.

"Because," she said, "I might be able to save you."

Adam was thunderstruck.

"How?" he demanded, his heart pounding in his ears. Was there a chance that he could get out of this? "Can you break the deal?"

Ruby grimaced.

"Sorry, kiddo. Wish I could. But I'm just a low-level demon. I don't have that kinda juice."

Adam's heart sank.

"But I know a couple of people. Well, I don't know them personally and they sure as hell don't know me but they're famous around Hell. I can help you track 'em down and see if they can't find a way out of your deal. If anyone can do it, it's them."

Adam felt a sliver of hope.

"To get out of your deal, you've gotta kill the one who holds it. And that demon is one nasty bitch. Lilith, her name is. The first demon ever made and all that crap, so she's the most powerful. But these guys are probably the greatest hunters in the world, not to mention that they've got an angel on their shoulder. If anyone can ice her, it's them."

"You can take me to them?" Adam said. Ruby smiled and ruffled his hair again.

"Course I can. And if I get in their good books, I get protection from Hell when they try to shiv me. See? We both benefit."

And of course, the dark side of Adam's mind had to kick in (in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Darth Vader's).

"But how do you know that they'll help me?" he said gloomily. "How do you know that they won't turn around and tell me that it's my problem? Guys like me who sell their souls can't exactly be admired, right?"

"True," Ruby admitted. "But you've got a few things going for you. For one, you're a kid. Everybody loves a kid. For another, you made that deal to save your mom. One of 'em recently died and his brother tried to make a deal to bring him back, just like you did yesterday."

"Tried?"

"An angel smote the crap outta the demon and brought the guy back. But don't go thinking about summoning angels. From what I've heard, most angels are complete douchebags who'd sooner smite you than help you and these guys just lucked out and got the one angel that wouldn't kill 'em. Again, this is just what I've heard – I've been in Hell since the fourteenth century, so I'm kinda rusty."

Adam winced, feeling sorry for Ruby despite himself.

"And there's a third reason. Tell me, Adam. Who's your father?"

Adam blinked, wondering what this had to do with anything.

"Uh…John Winchester. Don't know him much. He used to drop 'round on my birthday but that's about it. Wait. Don't tell me. He's a hunter?"

"Was. Killed by a demon last year. Though last I heard, these guys offed him last week."

Adam looked down. He hadn't known John very well but the man was still his father and the news of his death made his insides curl. He was officially an orphan!

"What does Dad have to do with anything?"

The blonde grinned widely.

"That's the thing. These guys? They'd do _anything_ to help family. Anything. And I'll tell you what?"

Adam began to feel sick again.

"Three guesses who their father is, kiddo. And the first two don't count."

Adam shook his head. This couldn't be true!

"No…" he said. Ruby laughed.

"Yep. These guys are your half-siblings. Well, the guys are, anyway. The chick's your cousin. But they're still family. Of course they're gonna want to help you."

Ruby stepped over Steve's body and crossed over to the living room entrance. She turned back to look at Adam.

"Well? I haven't got all day. Let's get outta here before the cops come or another demon decides to sniff you out."

Adam looked from Ruby to his dead mother. Could he trust her? She was a demon! Sure, she'd saved him and she'd been pretty straight with him and she was offering to help him out of his deal but she was still a demon!

"Seriously, are you coming? If not, can I have my knife back? That thing was hell to get – pun fully intended."

Adam looked down at the knife and made a decision. Kate was gone and no demon deal was going to bring her back this time. If he stayed here, he'd just have to face a tonne of questions and problems and he'd probably be sent to live with his insufferable aunt and uncle anyway. And who cared if the demon killed him, anyway? He was already going to Hell. Things couldn't possibly get any worse! If there was a slim chance that his half-siblings – if they _were_ his half-siblings – could help him then he'd take it!

"Can I grab some stuff first?"


	2. In Which Adam Goes Nuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much exactly what it says in the chapter title. Adam really wasn't cut out for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.
> 
> I'm sorry about Kate last chapter but it was necessary. Not only could I find no way to fit her in but with her around, it'd be a lot harder to push Adam where he needs to go – just like if John was around, it'd be harder to push Sam and Dean in canon.
> 
> And just to clarify timelines in case it wasn't clear: Adam made his deal a few days after the Gate was opened. This matches up with 3x01, which is set a week after that event.

**Chapter 2. In Which Adam Goes Nuts**

"C'mon, Lou. It's been a week. This isn't healthy."

"Says the guy who obsessed over his brother's body for two days and then tried to sell his own soul," Louise said bitchily, not moving from her spot on the bed where she was curled up.

"You think this doesn't hurt?" Dean snapped. "I've lost my dad, my sister, my brother and my best friend, all in the space of a year. And if I could make a deal to bring Cas back, I would. But I dunno what happens after angels die and I don't wanna bring Jimmy back 'cause he's probably happy with his family in Heaven."

Louise laughed darkly.

"This needs to stop." She stood up and turned around. "This whole 'selling your soul for everybody'. It's not healthy, Dean!"

"Yeah, like you wouldn't do the same."

"I would but that's not the point."

"Oh, really? Sounds like you're being a hypocrite."

"I'm not the one so eager to throw my soul away! Come on, Dean! Do you really think that little of yourself that you're so keen to throw yourself into the hellfire?"

Dean glowered at her.

"I'm probably goin' to Hell anyway," he snarled. "All the shit I've done in my life, you really think I'd be going upstairs? My life's worthless, Lou. I've got nothing going for me, so if I can make sure that someone benefits from it then yeah, I'll throw myself into the hellfire!"

Louise gaped, blinking back tears. How – how could Dean think so _little_ of himself?

"Dean," she said softly.

"Don't go all 'chick flick' on me, Lou."

"I will! Because you know what? Your life _isn't_ worthless! You've saved _so many_ people!"

"And gotten heaps more killed!"

"Yeah and like I haven't? You're one of the best people I know, Dean! Hell, you're my hero! Whenever I was stuck with Sammy when you and Dad were on a hunt, you know what I'd do? I'd ask myself, 'What would Dean do?'"

Dean stared at Louise in shock.

"So don't you _dare_ think that you aren't worth anything because you _are_! You're funny and loyal and protective and annoying and a total asshole and you're my big brother and you _can't_ go to Hell, you just _can't_!"

Louise was breathing heavily after her rant. Dean was still staring at her.

"Dammit!" she yelled. "Azazel was right! I'm too fucking emotionally unstable!" She turned and looked up at the ceiling. "Fuck you, Araqiel, wherever the hell you are!"

"Alright, alright, wrap it up." Dean lightly slapped the back of Louise's head and she scowled at him. "We all know that you're a whiny bitch, Lou. You don't need to go proving us right."

Louise punched Dean on the shoulder, though she was smiling softly.

"You see?" she said. "You know what to do with my moods. Sammy just rolls his eyes and goes all 'bitchface' and then he gets overly huggy and crushes me with his moose body and tries to get me to talk until I end up exploding."

Dean snorted.

"You two done trying to outdo each other with sob stories?" Sam poked his shaggy head into the motel room. "Bobby just called. He thinks he found something."

As they drove, Louise's mind flashed back to Jimmy and Castiel's funeral.

_With Dean's help, Louise chopped a fair amount of lumber and then Sam helped them build a funeral pyre. This took half an hour and then they wrapped Jimmy in a white sheet, heaved him onto the pyre and doused him in gasoline. Louise was the one to flick the lighter and drop it onto the body, starting a blaze that would consume Jimmy and prevent his body from being used for anything dark._

"Cover me in gasoline, wipe away those tears of blood again _," Louise murmured to herself, hoping that Jimmy and Castiel appreciated the song reference. She knew that if she was to do this with Dean, he'd claw his way out of Heaven or Hell just to yell at her._

" _C'mon," Dean said once the flames had died down, leaving a charred pile of ash. "No point in sticking around."_

_He gently pulled Louise away, while she wiped away the last of her tears and tried not to show just how much the loss of her good friend and her best friend had affected her._

' _I'm sorry,'_ she thought mournfully. _'I hope you're both happy, wherever you are.'_

-LW-

"How do you even know where they are?" Adam said as they cruised into Tulsa, Oklahoma, in his mother's car. It was a ten hour drive from Windom but Adam, tired out from the events of the past two days, had fallen asleep as soon as they had left Windom and Ruby had taken this chance to go and 'sort out other business' while he slept in the car on the side of the road, so it had taken a day and a half to get there.

"I've got a few tricks up my sleeve," Ruby replied mysteriously. "You know what to say when you get there?"

"Yeah. But why aren't you coming with me?"

"I told you, kiddo. Hunters put salt lines down to stop things like me from getting at them and I wouldn't put it past them to have a Devil's Trap down somewhere. I wouldn't even make it in the door and then they'd off me before I could even speak."

Adam grimaced, though this made sense. If his half-siblings were really known as the greatest hunters as Ruby said, they wouldn't just trust any random demon who claimed to be on their side.

"And they don't have a good history with demons," Ruby added. "While you were sleeping, I did some poking around. The demon that killed their moms and dad and possessed one of them? His kids set up shop in the other two last year for a week. Made them murder a bunch of people."

Adam's eyes widened at this. Yeah, they weren't too likely to trust a demon after that crap.

"What's with your…vessel?" he said carefully. "You're possessing someone, aren't you?"

"Bingo," Ruby drawled. Adam gulped. "Don't worry, kiddo. She's dead."

"What?"

"Invaded a morgue and shoved myself down the first young chick I found. Katie Cassidy, her name was. Died in a car accident. I fixed her up and came to save your tiny ass."

Adam swallowed, the dead girl's name hitting too close for comfort.

"I'm a freak, Adam. Most demons don't give a stuff whether their meat suit's alive or dead – hell, they prefer alive so that they can run them into the ground and then when they vacate the premises, the person dies. But me? I prefer dead people. I'm not like other demons. Maybe that's why I decided to run away from home."

Adam's stomach coiled with sympathy. He didn't have much experience with demons but from what he'd seen, Ruby was pretty chill for one.

"Look, here we are."

Adam hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings and now, looking out the window, he saw that they were in the parking lot of a small motel. Huh. Seemed like a weird place for a few hunters to set up shop.

"From what I hear, they just cruise around the country and live out of motels like this. And this is where I last tracked them to. Well? What are you waiting for? Room four, they should be in."

Adam slowly got out of the car and retrieved his suitcase. His heart was pounding, his stomach was twisting and he was sweating nervously. These guys were his siblings! They were the reason that his dad had only dropped in once in a blue moon! And it was possible that they could help him out of his contract!

Approaching the door of number four, Adam raised his fist and knocked. He waited for a minute but there was no response. Great. Just his luck, he'd had to get them when they were out. He returned to the car.

"Not there," he said. Ruby groaned.

"Fantastic. They must have skipped town while we were driving. Be back in a sec."

She slid out of the driver's seat smoothly and sauntered off to the lobby. Adam slumped in his seat and tried not to have a mental breakdown. He'd been normal a few days ago! And now his mom had died twice, he was going to Hell in less than a year and he was cruising around with a demon and looking for his long-lost half-siblings.

He was gonna need all the shrinks after this.

"Just spoke to the guy in there." Adam jumped when Ruby appeared back in the car. "Had to pay a pretty penny but he told me that they checked out a few hours ago. I say we grab some lunch and then I'll track 'em again. I'd kill for some French fries. I had some when you were asleep and they're amazing. They're like deep-fried crack."

Adam nodded and then frowned.

"Wait. Didn't you say that salt could hurt demons?"

"Tiny grains like that? Pfft. It's like downing a hot pepper. Plus, I'm a bit masochistic like that. Camping out for centuries in Hell tends to do that to you."

Ruby pulled out of the parking lot and edged back onto the road. Adam once again wondered just what his life was coming to and whether or not he was just having a very vivid dream.

-LW-

"Do you have any idea who we're up against?" Bobby said. Sam, Dean and Louise shook their heads. "The seven deadly sins in the flesh!"

"'What's in the box?'" Dean grinned. Bobby rolled his eyes and threw a book at him and Louise snickered.

"In 1589, Binsfeld ID'd the Seven Deadly Sins as actual demons, not just human vices," the older man said.

"The family – they were touched by Sloth!" Sam said. Louise grimaced at the reminder of the family they'd found, who had literally starved to death in their living room with a fully stocked kitchen feet away. "And the shopper…"

"Envy," Louise realised. "That woman _really_ wanted those shoes."

"I couldn't suss it out at first until Isaac," Bobby said. Louise flinched, remembering the poor man lying in a pool of drain cleaner he'd drunk and blood he'd spewed out. "He was touched by Gluttony."

"I don't give a rat's ass who they are!" Tamara, Isaac's now-widowed wife, yelled. "I'll kill every last one of 'em!"

"Yeah, 'cause that turned out well!" Bobby said. "These demons haven't been topside in half a millennium! We've never faced anything close to this! So we're gonna take a deep breath…and figure out our next move!" He yelled this last part. Tamara just sniffed and walked out of the room, followed by the others. In the next room, the redheaded man tied up under a Devil's Trap laughed.

"So, you know who I am?" he said. Yeah, Louise knew. Envy. The filthy demonic vibes were just rolling off him like a bad stench and his true face was one of the ugliest she'd ever seen.

"We do. We're not impressed," Bobby said flatly.

"Why are you here? What're your plans?" Sam demanded. Envy just chuckled and refused to answer, earning a free flask of holy water to the face.

"We're just having fun," Envy said. "Some people crochet. Others golf. Me? I like to see people's insides on their outsides."

"I'll put you down like a dog!" Tamara hissed.

"Please. You think you're better than me?" Envy laughed. "Which one of you can cast the first stone? You, Dean? You're a walking billboard of gluttony and lust."

Dean nodded in acknowledgement. Louise was impressed at how he just accepted it.

"Pretty Louise…you've got a fair bit of pride in that noggin, eh? Always thinking that your powers are just the bee's knees and that you know best…well, I can think of a few people who would tend to disagree."

Louise was practically shooting daggers out of her eyes.

"And let's not forget that lovely wrath inside you. Hell, probably one of the only people with more anger than you is Tamara." He clicked his tongue at Tamara condescendingly. "It's the reason you and Isaac became hunters in the first place, isn't it? Far easier to revel in the rage than face what really happened all those years ago."

A pissed Tamara started to pummel Envy, which only proved his point.

"And you call us sins," he snickered. "We're not sins. We're natural human instinct. And you can repress and deny us all you want but you wanna know the truth? You're just animals. Horny, greedy, hungry, violent animals. And you know what? You'll be slaughtered like animals too. The others? They're coming for me."

"Someone exorcise this son of a bitch already," Louise spat.

"Gladly," Tamara growled.

-LW-

"Well, would ya look at that?" Ruby chuckled as she and Adam lurked in the shadows, watching the six demons outside the house trying to get in. "The deadly sins in the very flesh."

"Wait, _the_ deadly sins?" Adam spluttered. "Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Lust, Pride and Envy? But there are only six!"

"Hmm." Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Envy isn't there. They must've gotten him already."

"What do we do?" Adam was beginning to hyperventilate. This wasn't what he'd been expecting when Ruby had told him of a way to earn their trust!

"Good question. Stay behind me and make sure I don't get jumped."

"What?"

"Come on, kiddo!"

Ruby took off towards the house. His heart pounding, Adam followed, figuring that he was safer with her rather than waiting in the bushes like a sitting duck. They ignored a woman staking a corpse with a piece of wood, instead racing up the steps and into the house.

"What do I do?" Adam said hysterically. "I'm not cut out for this!"

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Like I said, stay with me."

Adam tried to. He really did. But halfway up the stairs, he was grabbed by a demon and yanked back, an arm around his throat. He yelled and kicked, trying to break free, but the demon's grip was too strong.

"You're not a hunter," the man chuckled. "What are you doing here, kid?"

"I really don't know!" Adam wheezed.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! YOU'RE ALIVE!" he heard a woman scream but he was more concerned with the arm that was slowly cutting off his windpipe, rendering him unable to breathe. Black spots danced at the edges of his vision. This was it. He was dying, he was going to Hell and there was nothing he could do –

Suddenly, the demon let out a strangled cry and his grip loosened. Adam kicked his way free and whirled around to see who had saved him. It turned out to be a dark-haired man in a beige trench coat, a gleaming silver blade in his hand. Next to him was a woman with long, dark hair, wearing an odd combination of a purple leather jacket and black slacks. But clothes were the least of Adam's problems right now.

"Who the hell are you?" the woman said. "You're unarmed, so you're not a hunter. What the fuck are you doing here, kid?"

"I don't even want to be here!" Adam said hysterically. "I was just with Ruby and she told me to cover her and – holy crap!" He turned and pounded up the stairs, bursting into a room just in time to see Ruby taking on a demon, with a second one holding a shaggy-haired man in a chokehold and a third body on the floor.

"Nice of you to join in, kiddo!" Ruby said cheerfully, dodging the snarling demon. He whirled and punched her in the face, sending her staggering away, and then turned to face the man and woman that had saved Adam.

"Look at you!" he said gleefully. "Little plucked angel! Where's your wings?"

The man – who was the angel, Adam presumed – snarled and advanced on the demon but it waved a hand to send him flying into a wall. What the heck? Weren't angels supposed to be better than demons?

"Cas!" the woman yelled. She snarled at the demon and held out a hand, summoning Cas' blade to her. Adam blinked and then the woman was attacking, swiping at the demon in front of her. It dodged and grabbed her wrist, forcing the blade away from him and towards her abdomen. Adam's eyes widened as the image of his dead, gutted mother flashed through his mind and he immediately knew that he couldn't let that happen to this woman!

"Hey!"

The demon turned at Adam's cry and let out a surprised exclamation when Adam tackled him. However, he quickly recovered and punched Adam in the face, sending him reeling and clutching his jaw with tears in his eyes, but this had distracted the demon long enough for the woman to crouch next to him and jam the blade straight through his chest. The demon lit up as he died and the woman grinned widely at Adam as she extracted the blade.

"Nice work, whoever the hell you are."

She turned to face Ruby, who had just buried her knife in the last demon's throat while the shaggy-haired man held him tightly. When the demon fell to the ground, an awkward silence fell on the room.

"Who the fuck are you?" the woman hissed, the blade in her hand pointed straight at Ruby. The angel – Cas – crossed over to her, his eyes narrowed at Ruby.

"I'm the girl who just saved your asses," Ruby grinned.

"You're a demon!"

Ruby blinked, revealing black eyes. The shaggy-haired man jumped and staggered back.

"Congrats! D'you want a medal?" Ruby said. "A 'thank you' would be nice, y'know."

"You are a demon," Cas said in a low, gravelly voice. "What could you possibly hope to gain from turning on your brethren?"

"Adam here knows the whole sob story." Ruby jerked her head at Adam, who wanted to strangle her when Cas, the man and the woman turned their attention on him.

"Who are you?" the woman said. "Why the hell'd this demon bring you in the middle of a bloodbath?"

"Wanted him to get used to it," Ruby said flippantly. "He's gonna have to sooner or later."

"What do you mean?" the man said. Ruby grinned mysteriously.

"That's for Adam here to tell you."

"You do know she's a demon, right?" the woman said.

"So you've said," Ruby said. "Keep telling him. I don't think he knows yet."

"I wasn't talking to you!"

"She saved me," Adam said hoarsely, trying not to cower at the attention on him. "She iced the demon that killed my mom and tried to kill me. And she brought me to you because she thinks you can help me."

"Maybe," Ruby put in. "I'd hope for a miracle if I were you but if anyone can do it, it's these guys."

She took a step towards Adam. The woman raised the blade in her hand but Ruby just ruffled Adam's hair, a gesture that had become annoyingly endearing.

"Take care, stay strong and all that crap," she said. "See you guys around."

She left the room. Adam knew that she was gone when the dark-haired woman relaxed a fraction.

"What the hell's going on?" she said. "Who are you and why are you playing tag team with a demon? You do know that she wouldn't have saved you unless there was something in it for her, right?"

"I know," Adam snapped. "But she's done a hell of a lot more for me than you, so stop trash-talking her. My mom's dead – twice, mind you! – not to mention that I'm going to Hell in a year! I am about _this_ close to having a mental breakdown!"

The woman's eyebrows rose. Adam eyed the blade in her hand nervously, hoping that she didn't run him through with it. He let out a sigh of relief when she just shrugged and handed it to Cas, who the shaggy-haired man was staring at with wide eyes.

"You got guts, kid," the woman said. "Who are you? And why are you going to Hell in a year?"

Adam swallowed.

"My – my name's Adam Milligan. And I think I might be your half-brother."


	3. In Which They Just Sit and Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean isn't happy about the fact that he's got another little brat - er, sibling - to look out for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.
> 
> Yes, Castiel is now Cas. Don't ask why it took me this long to switch.

**Chapter 3. In Which They Just Sit and Talk**

"Wait, you're _what_ exactly?" Dean exclaimed. Louise couldn't keep her eyes off the blond teenager in front of her. After the bombshell he'd dropped on them yesterday in the aftermath of fighting the Sins, she had wanted to question him immediately. But Sam hadn't allowed her to, reminding her that the kid – Adam Milligan, he said his name was – was on the verge of having a mental breakdown. She did have to admit that he'd looked very close to snapping, so she'd laid off him. But now, they had plenty of time.

"I told you," Adam muttered. "My dad's John Winchester. Ruby told me that he was your dad too and that you were my half-siblings."

This was surreal. John had loved Mary! Louise didn't pretend not to know that he'd had a few one-night stands but a _kid_? A freaking _kid_?"

"Uh, no," Dean said. Meanwhile, Sam was flipping through John's journal, trying to find any evidence of Adam's existence. "You're not John's kid. We are."

"Technically, I'm his niece," Louise put in.

"Technicalities. This guy here? He isn't Dad's son."

"I think I'd know who my own father is," Adam said coldly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled photograph, which he gave to Dean. Louise leaned over and her mouth dropped when she saw that it was John! And he was hugging a kid that looked a hell of a lot like Adam! So Adam really _was_ his kid!

"So how come we've never heard of you?" Louise said. "I'd think that Dad would've told us if he had another kid."

"'Cause John and me didn't really know each other. Not until a few years ago, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Sam said.

"My mom never talked about him. I knew some stuff."

"Like what?" Dean said harshly.

"My mom is – well, _was_ – a nurse."

His mouth twisted. Louise quickly reached out and put a hand on his arm because, half-brother or not, nobody deserved to have to talk about their parents that way.

"Dad came into the ER half-dead. Hunting accident or something – just didn't think that it was this kind of hunting. And I knew his name. John Winchester. That's about it. We weren't exactly a nuclear family."

"Who is these days?" Louise said sardonically. "Cas? He's my millennia-old uncle. My dad's an angel who didn't even bother to stick around when Mom got pregnant."

"Gotta love fathers," Adam laughed darkly. Dean scowled at him, so Louise shot her brother a warning look.

"When did you, uh, finally meet him?" Dean said after a moment.

"When I was twelve. Mom had one of his old numbers and after I begged her – God, twenty four seven – she finally called him. When he heard he had a son, he raced to town. I mean, he dropped everything. He drove all night."

Louise frowned.

"January, 2002?" she said. Adam stared at her.

"How did you –?"

"You remember, Dean? Dad looked like he'd seen a ghost or something. Told us to finish off the case without him, packed up and left. Didn't come back for days and he was a bit off when he did come back. He didn't even yell at you for fucking up and getting your wrist broken."

"Yeah, I had the time of my life," Dean said bitterly. "Keep goin', kid."

"He'd swing by once a year or so," Adam continued after a moment, his eyes flicking from sibling to sibling. "He'd call when he could. But still…he taught me poker and pool and bought me my first beer last year, when I turned fifteen. And, uh…he showed me how to drive. He had this beautiful '67 Impala –"

"He let you drive Baby?" Dean growled. Adam looked taken aback.

"Sorry," Louise said. "That Impala's just really important to Dean. Sometimes, I think he loves her more than us."

Adam nodded warily.

"He took me to a baseball game when I turned fourteen. He was around for a few of my birthdays."

Sam paused at a page.

"September 29, 2004. One word: 'Minnesota'."

"That's where I'm from. Windom, Minnesota."

"And here, a few pages back. Says that Dad was on a case in Minnesota in January, 1990 – nine months before Adam was born. The dates add up, guys."

"He took you to a freaking baseball game?" Dean growled.

"Yeah. Why? What'd Dad do with you on your birthday?"

Louise scowled. That one hit close to home!

"Nothing," she spat. "He did fucking nothing. And if he did remember, he'd just get us this cheap-ass cake from the local store and some crappy old toy."

She punched the wall next to her, wincing when her fist went through it. Adam gulped.

"Uh…sorry," he said lamely. "I swear, if I'd known –"

"Well, you didn't!" Dean barked. "We were raised like fucking soldiers and here he is, tryin' to be normal with you! How is that fair?"

"Dean," Sam said sharply. "Look, none of this is Adam's fault. He didn't make Dad raise us in the life and he didn't make Dad treat him like a normal kid. That's all on Dad."

Louise glared daggers at the bed, wishing she could set it on fire. Why the fuck did Adam get the normal life when they were stuck hunting monsters and risking their lives? Why did John treat him like a normal kid and not them?

"You said that you were going to Hell in a year," Sam said. Dean stiffened. "Why's that?"

Adam gulped and looked down.

"Please don't yell at me for this or anything," he said. "I know it was stupid and I know I'm a dumbass but…you'd have done it in my position, right?"

A bad feeling niggled at Louise's gut.

"You sold your soul," Dean said bluntly. "Didn't you?"

Adam looked alarmed but nodded. Dean snorted.

"You idiot! Why the fuck –"

"My mom was dead!" Adam yelled. "I came home from school and I found her in the kitchen! Her blood was everywhere!"

Dean's mouth dropped. Louise was gobsmacked and Sam's eyes were wide.

"Then my friend, Lauren, turned up – only, she wasn't Lauren. She had these creepy red eyes –"

"Crossroads demon," Dean muttered. "Keep going."

"– and she told me that she could bring Mom back if I sold my soul and I'd go to Hell in a year. Of course I said yes. You'd have done it, right?"

"Yeah, Dean," Louise quipped. Dean narrowed his eyes at her.

"I know you would have. Ruby told me –"

"Oh, Ruby told you!" Dean said with harsh laughter. "Great! What else does that demon bitch know about us?"

"Stuff that she got out of other demons," Adam scowled. "Sounded to me like everyone knows you guys."

"He's got a point," Sam said. "It wouldn't be hard to go knocking to some other demons."

"She told me that all three of you were possessed," Adam said softly. "I'm sorry. That sounds like it sucks. Can't blame you for hating demons, especially after they, well…killed your family."

Louise sucked in a sharp breath, memories of Tom fighting their way to the forefront of her mind.

"We don't talk about that crap," she snapped. "Got it?"

"Got it," Adam said weakly.

"Why should we help you?" Dean said. "Sounds like you knew perfectly well what you were doing."

"Yeah and I was perfectly ready to accept it," Adam hissed. "I knew exactly what I'd gotten myself into. I knew I was going to Hell. But then you know what? Another demon came the next day and killed Mom. Again. And since the deal was only to bring her back, I've still got a one-way ticket downstairs."

Louise felt sympathy course throughout her. That was totally not fair! They should've left his mom alone!

"That's the only reason I'm asking for help," Adam finished. "They screwed me over, so I want out. If they brought Sam back and then turned around and killed him and told you that you were still going to Hell, wouldn't you want to get out of the deal?"

Dean was rigid, his face pale and his eyes glittering.

"Of course Ruby knows about the deal," Louise muttered. "What doesn't she know?"

"To be fair, an angel smiting a demon in the middle of a deal's bound to attract attention," Sam said. "And everything she's told Adam about us is stuff she could've gotten out of other demons."

"Did she say what she wanted from you?" Louise said gently, knowing that Adam liked Ruby and not wanting to anger him. "Demons don't usually play nice unless they get something out of it."

"Survival. She told me that she got out through the Devil's Gate – whatever the hell that is – and she doesn't want to go back to Hell, so she's trying to help you guys so you don't send her packing."

"Makes sense, in a twisted way," Sam admitted. "Remember Lenore and her nest? They fed on cattle blood so that we wouldn't come and kill them. Why can't a demon ally with hunters to avoid getting sent back to Hell?"

"Because since when have you known a demon to be trustworthy, Sammy?" Dean snapped. "They lie, they cheat and they manipulate."

"Sorry but I'm with Dean," Louise said apologetically. "I haven't known one demon who I'd trust to even stab me in the back properly."

They sat in awkward silence, which was broken when Cas appeared awkwardly in the doorway. A wide grin on her face, Louise jumped up and bounded over to hug him tightly.

"I can't believe you're alive, Cas!" she said happily. Behind her, Sam and Dean were staring at Cas with wide eyes. He'd gone to help Bobby clean up last night and then he'd been gone when they woke up that morning, so this was the first time any of them had seen him properly.

"I'm glad to be alive," Cas said seriously. Louise let go of him, beaming.

"How?" Dean croaked. "How are you back, Cas? We burned your – well, Jimmy's – body!"

"I don't know," Cas said, following Louise back to the bed and sitting down next to her. "I remember Azazel shooting me with the Colt and then…I was outside that house."

"What about Jimmy?" Louise said softly. "Is he –?"

"He is still in Heaven. I am the only one in this body."

Louise exhaled in relief.

"Good. That's good. Keep going, Cas."

"I could see the demons, so I went to help and I found Louise using my blade against them."

"Scared the life outta me," Louise said sheepishly. "I was distracted and he got a hit in. But then I stabbed him and gave Cas his blade back and when we went out into the hall, we found Adam here being half-choked to death."

"I _was_ being choked to death," Adam said. "You're really an angel?"

"Not so much anymore," Cas said miserably. "Whoever or whatever brought me back neglected to restore my powers. I have barely any grace left – enough to ensure that I am an angel but not enough to use any of my abilities apart from supernatural perception. At this point, Louise is more powerful than me."

Louise put an arm around Cas' shoulders sadly and rubbed his arm.

"You're still our angel," she said firmly. "Nobody cares whether you've got mojo or not."

"We're just glad to see you alive," Sam said, smiling. Dean nodded, also grinning.

"Man, it fucking hurt when Azazel iced you," he said. "Don't ever do that again, Cas! You hear me?"

Cas looked down, smiling. When he looked up, his gaze fell on Adam.

"Hi," Adam waved awkwardly. "Adam Milligan. John Winchester's kid. Also, going to Hell in a year 'cause I got majorly screwed over."

Cas stared. Adam quickly explained his story again and by the end of it, Cas was looking much more sympathetic.

"I don't know what Hell is trying to achieve," he said. "Adam is of no importance to them."

"Thanks," Adam deadpanned. Louise snickered. "Can you get me out of the deal? Ruby said that you had to kill the demon that held my contract."

"Great," Dean said sarcastically. "Let's just summon and kill every crossroads demon till we find yours!"

"That'd work if she held my contract. Ruby mentioned someone called Lilith. The first demon or something."

"The first demon that Lucifer ever created," Cas murmured. "Demons are simply twisted human souls, tortured until they break and begin to lose their humanity. God asked all of His angels to bow to humans and love them more than they loved Him but Lucifer refused. He corrupted Lilith's soul in order to prove that humans were flawed and unworthy of such love."

Louise was nearly sick. Demons were once humans? Well, that explained the vaguely humanoid features she saw in their true faces!

"What happened next?" Adam said, looking nauseous.

"God called upon Michael to cast Lucifer down after that and Lucifer was locked in a cage in Hell, with over six hundred seals created to contain him. However, only sixty six need to be broken in order to free him. The first and last seals are very specific and, though I am not sure what they are exactly, I know that the first one has to do with the Righteous Man."

"Me," Dean rasped. Cas nodded.

"Or another righteous man."

"Thanks for the history lesson," Louise said. "Now, how do we kill Lilith and free Adam?"

Cas gave a helpless shrug.

"I'm not sure."

"Fantastic," Adam drawled. "Tell me when you do figure it out, won't you?"

"We could've just refused to help, y'know," Dean scowled. "Be a bit more grateful, kid."

Adam just crossed his arms and scowled.


	4. Light 'Em Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean's possibly a dad, Adam learns to fuck shit up and things get toasty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own SPN.
> 
> I know that last night was my scheduled update but, as I explained in my latest chapter of ‘100 Cheesy Destiel Love Situations’, ffn spazzed out and wouldn’t let me do ANYTHING and I didn't want to update one without the other. I apologise for this late update!

**Chapter 4. Light ‘Em Up**

“No! Hell, no!” Dean snapped.

“Why not?” Louise said, hands on her hips.

“Because it’s a crappy idea!”

“Teaching Adam to protect himself is a crappy idea?” Sam said incredulously.

“We’re not teachin’ the kid to fire a shotgun, okay? And we’re not teachin’ him how to hack and cut things up and do all the crap that we do!”

“Dean, he’s hanging out with us now!” Louise said. “He’s going to Hell in a year unless we can ice this Lilith bitch and to do that, we need all hands on deck! We can’t just keep Adam hidden behind a tonne of protections like some delicate little flower!”

“Why do you think Dad never told us about this kid? Why do you think he ripped out those pages? He was protecting him!”

“Well, Dad’s dead!” Sam said. Dean’s face darkened.

“That doesn’t matter! He didn’t want Adam to have our lives, so we’re gonna respect his wishes!”

Adam was standing awkwardly nearby, staring out the window and pretending that he couldn’t hear them.

“I’m sure he’d disagree if he knew the shit that Adam was in!” Louise said. “The kid saw his mom die twice and he’s going to Hell in a year and he had to rely on a _demon_ to get him here! I’m pretty fucking sure that he’s in the life now! If we don’t teach him then what’ll happen?”

“Doesn’t matter if we can’t kill Lilith because he’ll be dead in a year!”

“So if we can train him, that’s one extra pair of hands to help us! I’m the most powerful one of us and even I’m fucking weak, so Lilith will eat us for breakfast!”

“Wow. Y’know, I see what Envy meant about that pride of yours.”

“Fuck you, Dean!” Louise shoved Dean but her rage fuelled her strength and he went flying into the opposite wall. Her eyes widened in horror but Dean seemed to be largely unaffected.

“Thanks, sis. Really.”

Sam had sidled over to Adam, trying to stay out of the fight that had developed.

“Don’t think that I don’t know what’s going on, Dean!”

“Oh? Enlighten me, Dr Phil!”

“You’re jealous! You’re jealous of Adam ‘cause Dad did normal dad stuff with him!”

“No I’m not!”

“You are! I’m jealous too, Dean! I’d have killed for Dad to take _us_ to a baseball game or just hang out and do normal, apple pie stuff! But he’s dead and it’s in the past and Adam doesn’t deserve to suffer just because Dad didn’t tell him about all this crap! You know what happens if we don’t help him? He roasts downstairs! And you heard Cas! All demons used to be human! You really want Adam coming back up with black eyes ‘cause you didn’t want to help him?”

The siblings glared at each other, breathing heavily, their eyes glinting. Finally, Dean grabbed his leather jacket and yanked it on.

“I’m going out! So why don’t you babysit our _baby brother_ since you’re so keen to take him under your wing?”

The motel door slammed behind him. Louise sighed, the tension draining out of her, and she sank onto the bed wearily.

“Is he always like that?” Adam said hesitantly. Sam laughed.

“Welcome to the family.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Louise added, her shoulders slumped. “Dean’s not usually that…hostile. I think he’s just getting used to this.”

“I don’t blame him,” Adam muttered. “I’d have done the same if I was in your shoes.”

Louise smiled at him. Sam met her eyes, crossed over to sit on the other bed and gestured Adam over.

“Here.” Sam took out his gun and ejected the clips. “We’ll teach you a few things.”

“Dean said –”

“Forget what Dean said,” Louise said. “He votes nay, Sam and I vote yay, majority rules. Now shut up and listen to Sam.”

-LW-

Sam and Louise spent the whole day showing Adam the workings of a gun and basic knife fighting and in the evening, Cas dropped in from Bobby’s via Ruby Express.

“Delivery,” the demon announced, appearing outside the door just in front of the salt line and igniting Louise’s typical nausea (though it had been getting better over the past year). Sam, Louise and Adam jumped and Cas hurried to escape from Ruby, who smiled at Adam when she saw him. “Hey, kiddo. They treating you alright?”

“Sam and Louise are teaching me how to fight,” Adam said. Ruby nodded approvingly.

“Good. When we do find Lilith, we need all hands on deck. And hey, if anything, it’ll make sure that you don’t take a trip downstairs early.”

“She is insufferable,” Cas muttered to Louise, who snorted.

“But she’s saying pretty much exactly what I told Dean,” she replied. Ruby’s eyebrows rose.

“Mind letting me in?” she said. “I’ve been on my feet all day avoiding demons. A girl needs to sit down.”

Sam, Louise and Cas remained where they were but Adam jumped up and scratched out a gap in the salt line. Ruby stepped smartly over the threshold and Adam kneeled down to rejoin the salt.

“Thanks, kiddo.” Ruby sank down onto a chair with a content sigh. “Outrunning demons all day really takes it out of you.”

“What do you want?” Louise demanded. Adam was the only reason she wasn’t killing this demon on sight but she sure as hell wasn’t going to play nice.

“To keep Adam there alive. And I wanted to properly meet Sam. You got any chips? I’ve got a salt craving like you wouldn’t believe.”

Sam stared at her in shock. Louise, her eyes glued on the demon, went to fish a packet of potato chips out of her duffle bag and tossed it to Ruby. The blonde gleefully popped the packet and shoved a chip into her mouth.

“Mmm. You don’t know how good these taste.”

“They’re salt and vinegar flavoured.”

“Even better.” Ruby licked her fingers. “I think my lips are tingling.”

Adam’s lips twitched.

“Why are you interested in me?” Sam said.

“You’re tall. I love a tall man. And there’s the whole antichrist thing.”

“ _What_?”

“Y’know, generation of psychic kids, Azazel rounds you up, celebrity death match ensues, you’re the last one standing. Sounds like Azazel had some pretty big plans for you.”

Louise was staring at Ruby, unable to speak. What did this demon want with Sam?

“‘Had’ being the key word,” Sam said firmly.

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. Ding dong, the demon’s dead. Good job with that. It doesn’t change the fact that you’re special…in that Anthony Michael Hall ESP visions kind of way.”

“That stuff hasn’t been happening since Azazel died!”

Louise sagged in relief when Sam said that.

“What do you want with Sam, Ruby?” Cas snapped.

“To help. Like I’m helping Adam. Just ‘cause Azazel’s gone doesn’t mean that it’s all over. Lilith is out now and she’s flattening anyone who gets in her way so that she can take over Hell. And Sammy, with his whole antichrist thing? He’s pretty big competition.”

Sam blanched. Louise growled. Nobody was laying a hand on her brother!

“I don’t want to rule Hell!” Sam protested.

“Too bad, buddy. Because some demons think that you’re the messiah and so long as you’ve got even one supporter, Lilith will see you as a threat.”

Ruby patted Sam on the arm.

“But don’t worry! You get stronger and by the time Lilith guns for you, you’ll be able to take her down and save Adam.”

She stood up and crossed over to the door.

“Well, I have places to go and demons to kill. You mind letting me out?”

Louise reluctantly stood up and went to let Ruby out.

“Why are you telling us all this?” she said. “You’re a demon!”

“Don’t be such a racist,” Ruby said coolly. “I want protection from Hell, so I’m helping you. I’m different from the other demons. And originally, I was going to tell you little bit by little bit and eventually tell you the whole truth when I was sure that you trusted me. But I can see that that’s not how you roll. And I want you to trust me because once you do, I’ve got your protection from Hell. So I’m telling you what I know and hoping that you can use that info and not just sit around with your thumbs up your asses.”

Ruby looked straight at Sam.

“You want to know you can trust me?” she said. “Find out what happened to all your mom’s pals. Someone went to great lengths to cover that up. Give me a call when you’re done and we’ll talk again.”

She stepped outside.

“A number would be nice,” Louise said frostily. Ruby raised her eyebrows.

“Already covered. I punched it into Adam’s phone when he was sleeping before we found you.”

“You _what_?” Adam exclaimed. Ruby smirked and wiggled her eyebrows.

“See you around, kiddo. Call if you need anything.”

Ruby turned and walked off. Louise felt her presence vanish when she was out of sight and she returned to her bed and dropped down onto it.

“Consorting with demons,” she muttered. “Look at our life. Look at our choices.”

Her phone rang suddenly. Groaning, she fished it out of her pocket and flipped it open.

“Wassup, big bro?” she said.

“First off, never say that again. Second, I’ve found a case. Cicero, Indiana. I’m coming to grab you lot.”

“Cool. Cas is here, by the way.”

“Awesome.”

Louise grinned at the sudden change in Dean’s tone but didn’t say anything.

“And you were right, Lou. Adam deserves a chance. Bring him with us and we’ll see if he can shoot or if he’s just a useless tagalong.”

Louise rolled her eyes, though she was still smiling.

“I’ll tell him you said that. Later, asshole.”

-LW-

“Are you sure he’s not yours?” Louise smirked, watching little Ben Braeden gesturing in a very Dean-like fashion.

“I dunno,” Dean shrugged uncomfortably. “Lisa’s sure he’s not mine but…”

Nine years ago, Dean had hooked up with Lisa Braeden here in Cicero and now Lisa had an eight year old son called Ben, who she was positive wasn’t Dean’s. But Louise wasn’t so sure. The kid was like a mini-Dean, inside and out!

“Would it bother you?” she asked. “Being a father?”

“What? No! I mean, I’d prefer not to be but…” Dean scoffed. “What about you? Would you be happy being Auntie Lou?”

“Honestly?” Louise looked at Ben. “I wouldn’t mind. I’ve always wanted a kid of my own, even if I don’t like…that. But I’m not about to go and have one with a random guy.”

“Good. I’d kill you if you did. Still gotta protect my baby sister’s virtue and all.”

Louise rolled her eyes and punched Dean on the arm. Her virtue was very secure due to her lack of interest in anything of the sort and she knew that Dean was choosing to ignore that small detail in favour of butchering any boy who even so much as looked at her. Big brother duties and all that, as he claimed.

-LW-

“Yes! You got it!” Louise beamed at Adam when he smoothly disassembled a shotgun. The teenager grinned toothily back in response.

“Not so hard once you get the hang of it,” he commented.

“Well, that’s the easy part,” Sam said. “Now you learn to shoot.”

Sam raised his gun, aimed it at the makeshift targets set up and fired three times in succession. He easily hit each target dead centre and Adam was gaping when Sam lowered the gun.

“Whoa,” the teenager commented.

“Just feel the recoil and time the trigger pulls,” Sam instructed. “Three taps, okay?”

Adam eagerly reassembled his gun, aimed and fired. He hit one target in the centre, barely grazed one and completely missed the third. He lowered his gun, looking disappointed.

“It took me a while to improve,” Cas offered helpfully.

“It’s true,” Louise said. “Took Cas a week to hit every target near the centre and he’s an angel. Trust me, it just takes time and practice.”

“Go again,” Sam said.

By the end of the session, Adam could hit most of the targets – though hitting them near the centre was something that needed a lot of work.

“Not bad, kid,” Dean grudgingly admitted, looking as though it pained him to say this. Adam beamed and flicked the safety on his gun before stowing it away.

-LW-

“Aww, look.” Louise pointed at a sad-looking Ben on a park bench. “The poor kid’s upset. Go comfort your son, Dean – first rule of being a parent, ya know.”

Adam snickered.

“He’s not my kid,” Dean glared balefully but went to talk to the kid. Louise leaned against the tree nearby, staring around. Her eyes swept over the children playing on the jungle gym and she did a double take and stared when she noticed something… _off_ about them.

“What the…?” she mumbled, slowly approaching them to take a closer look.

“What’s up?” Adam asked, following her, but she didn’t answer. When they reached the playground, all of the kids turned and stared at them in unison. Okay, that was fucking creepy. And now that she was closer, she could sense that they were _not_ ordinary children – in fact, they looked like horrifying monsters with huge, gaping mouths!

“Uh…hi?” Louise said lamely. No response. “You guys look like you’re having fun.”

“What are you doing?” Adam whispered.

“Mommy says that we can’t talk to strangers,” a girl said in a monotone.

“And you’re a stranger,” a boy chimed in.

“Leave us alone,” a third child said. Her hands up, Louise quickly backed away and pulled Adam with her.

“I’d bet my jacket that they’re the monsters we’re after,” she muttered.

“How can you tell?”

“I can see and sense this stuff. Trust me, kid. How do you think I knew Ruby was a demon? I can see her true face and it is _not_ pretty.”

-LW-

“What do you know about changelings?” Sam said to Dean, Louise and Adam as soon as they got back.

“What?” Louise blinked. “Does this have anything to do with the creepy ass kids in this town? ‘Cause those things are _not_ human.”

“They are changelings,” Cas said. “And there is one at the house of every person in this town who has died recently. The only way to kill them is by setting them on fire.”

“Oooh, fun,” Louise said sarcastically. “Let’s go toast some sons of bitches.”

She and Dean went to collect a few things from the trunk of the Impala and then began to make up kerosene torches while Adam and Castiel watched and Sam read out information.

“So, they can perfectly mimic children. According to lore, they climb in the window and snatch the kid. There were marks on the windowsill at one of the kid’s houses – looked like blood to me. They feed on synovial fluid from the mom – that’s why the moms had these weird bruises on the back of their necks. The mom can last for weeks before croaking.”

“That explains the dad and the babysitter,” Louise realised. “They gank anyone who gets between them and their food.”

“What about the real kids?” Adam said, looking sick. “Are they still alive?”

“According to the lore, they stash them somewhere underground,” Sam said. “So the real kids might still be out there.”

“We must find the children, save them and kill the mother,” Cas said. “Once the mother is dead, the changelings will follow.”

Dean insisted on taking a quick detour to Lisa’s to try and convince her to leave town. When they reached her house, Dean got out of the car and went to knock on the door. But Lisa angrily turned him away after a moment of conversation and Dean cursed when he got back into the car.

“They took Ben,” he said furiously. “I checked the windowsill and everything.”

“Blood?” Sam said.

“I don’t think it’s blood. And I think I know where the kids are.”

-LW-

They found the terrified but alive children, alright – under a semi-finished home with mounds of red dirt, same as on the windowsills of the victims’ houses. But this discovery also brought with it the changeling mother, who turned out to be disguised as a local real estate agent. And she was pissed.

“Hurry up and torch the bitch!” Louise yelled at Sam, Cas and Adam as she and Dean worked to free all of the children from their cages.

“How ‘bout you get in here and do it?” Sam hollered back.

“It’s okay,” Ben said soothingly to the other children as they were freed. “You’re gonna get out of here!”

Louise was struck by how similar this kid was to Dean.

“Lou, break the window!” Dean snapped. Louise nodded, turned to the window and held out her hand. Concentrating, she managed to cause cracks to web through the glass and then, with a wave of her hand, the glass shattered into tiny pieces. She knew that she had to work on limiting her hand gestures, as Cas had told her last year, but hey, she wasn’t restrained at the moment and they had to get the kids out!

“Whoa!” one of the boys said. “You’re Jean Grey!”

Louise smiled tightly.

“I don’t think I got all the glass off the sill,” she said. Ben appeared next to her, holding out his jacket.

“Use this,” he said. Louise nodded, laid the jacket down over the sill and began to help kids up through it. Meanwhile, Dean freed the petrified real estate agent from her cage.

“Little help in here!” Adam shouted. Dean groaned and sprinted into the next room.

“There are three of you!” Louise replied, helping a little girl out of the window. “Torch the bitch already!”

As she and Ben helped the last kids out and then she gave Ben a leg-up, she heard a horrible screeching noise and turned to see an orange glow coming from the next room.

“Finally!” Dean snapped.

-LW-

“They’re dead!” Sam said in shock. Nearby, Dean and Louise were reeling, Adam looked confused and Cas was impassive. “All of Mom’s friends – everyone who ever knew her, wiped off the map one after the other.” He laughed. “Someone made damn sure to cover their tracks.”

“That’s Azazel for ya,” Ruby said. “And I want to help you find out what he was hiding.”

“We already know what,” Dean snapped. “He gave Sam demon blood. And we know that Sam’s s’posed to be Lucifer’s vessel in the Apocalypse that’ll never happen.”

Ruby’s eyebrows rose.

“Someone’s well-informed,” she said. “But Azazel was hiding something else. It’s no secret that he infected Sam here. All of Hell knows about his special children. So that’s not what he was covering up. No, I’m sure he was hiding something else and I’m just that damn curious that I want to help you find out what.”

“What’s in it for you?” Dean said. Ruby rolled her eyes.

“Did you bozos not tell him about our conversation earlier?” she said. “I want safety. There are a _lot_ of bitches out there who want your heads on platters. You Winchesters are infamous, after all. But somehow, you always seem to pull through and win. And that’s why I’m throwing my lot in with you. Why else would I have brought Adam to you? Something’s going down and he got dragged into it.”

“Like what?” Adam said nervously.

“I don’t know yet. But look, kiddo. Most demon deals are for ten years, then the hounds come calling. Witches get longer, though they belong completely to the demon. Yet they offered Dean one year to bring back Sam and then did the same with you and your mom. Someone wants a Winchester in Hell quick smart and they won’t rest until they’ve got what they want.”

Adam gulped and exchanged a wide-eyed look with Sam, Dean and Louise.

“So what _do_ they want?” Cas said. “You seem to be very well-informed, Ruby.”

“That’s what I want to help you find out, Feathers.”


	5. Vampire Money

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which an old friend drops in to visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.
> 
> As funny as 'Bad Day at Black Rock' is, with no Gordon there's no reason for Kubrick and Creedy to be after Sam and so I didn't see any point in covering it. Also, in this chapter is a character that I've wanted to see back for years – there was a perfect opportunity for a revenge plot!

**Chapter 5. Vampire Money**

"Hey."

Louise looked up from her (brand new) laptop at Sam, who had entered the room. Dean and Bobby were working on figuring out how to make more bullets for the Colt, while Cas helped Adam work on his knife skills.

"What's up?" Louise said. "Didn't find another rabbit's foot, did you?"

Sam bitchfaced her at the reminder of Black Rock, New York, where he'd found a rabbit's foot that had given him unimaginable good luck until a thief and mercenary called Bela Talbot, who was well-versed in the supernatural, had stolen it to sell to the highest bidder. Luckily, they had tracked Bela down, gotten the foot back and burned it before Sam's incredibly bad luck could kill him. Of course, Sam hadn't gotten out of it unscathed; the bullet wound in his shoulder had just finished healing and the jacket he'd set on fire was irreparably damaged.

"No. I might've found a case. I found some omens in Ohio: dry lightning, barometric pressure drop."

"Thrilling," Dean deadpanned.

"And some guy blows his head off in a church and another goes postal in a hobby shop before the cops take him out. Could be demonic omens."

"Or a suicide and psycho scrapbooker," Dean shrugged.

"Best lead since Lincoln," Sam pointed out.

"Where in Ohio?" Adam asked, squinting and hurling a knife at the wall. It nearly embedded itself in Sam, who jumped away and glared at Adam.

"Elizabethville. Half-dead factory town in the rust belt."

"Well, I think I found a case too," Louise said, pointing at her screen. "Denver, Colorado. Two people found dead so far, completely drained of blood. I'm thinking maybe a vamp nest."

Castiel came to read over her shoulder.

"That seems rather…obvious," he frowned. "From what the article says, there was no effort put into hiding the bodies. They were found on the outskirts of town in rather obvious locations."

"True," Louise said. "Could be a new vamp who doesn't know how to clean up after himself. But that just makes him more dangerous."

"More of a lead than Ohio," Dean shrugged.

"You're gonna just ignore possible omens?" Sam said.

"Possible, Sammy. Possible."

"How about you two chuckleheads go to Ohio?" Louise said. "Adam and I'll go and look at this vampire case. What d'you wanna do, Cas?"

Cas looked between Sam, Dean, Louise and Adam.

"I think that I might accompany you, Louise," he finally decided. "As Adam is less experienced, I may be of more use to you than to Sam and Dean."

"Thanks," Adam muttered.

"Nothing personal, Adam," Louise said. "But I think it's better to have more protection for you anyway. We don't need you croaking earlier than – y'know."

Awkward silence filled the room. Louise fought the urge to wince.

"So!" Dean finally said. "Reckon you can have that Colt ready by this afternoon, Bobby?"

Bobby gave him a Look.

"Won't kill demons by then but it'll kill ya, that's for sure."

Louise snickered.

"C'mon! We're wasting daylight!" Dean said. "You taking Adam's car? Of course you are. You're not touching Baby."

Louise rolled her eyes and held out her hand so that Adam could throw her the keys.

"My car now, since Adam can't drive," she said. "That cool, baby bro?"

"Why not?" Adam shrugged. "Not like I'll need it in a year. Have it."

-LW-

It was a ten hour drive to Denver but Louise made it in eight by stepping on the gas of her new car ("A '69 Cadillac Calais! Your mom had awesome taste, Adam!" Cue awkward silence). It was late afternoon by the time they arrived and Louise decided that they should turn in for the night and start investigating the next day, so she pulled in to the first motel that was cheap and had free Wi-Fi.

"Make yourselves at home," Louise said with a wide, sweeping gesture as she collapsed onto one of the beds. "You two are sharing a bed. For the first time in ages, I get my own!"

"Thanks," Adam drawled. "Stick the two guys together. Nothing could possibly go wrong."

"Cas sleeps like a log," Louise said dismissively. "If anything, he'll have to worry about you kicking."

"How do I resemble a piece of wood in any way?" Cas said.

"I don't kick!" Adam said with an indignant squawk. Louise grinned and pushed herself into a sitting position.

"I'm going to get something to eat. You know the drill."

"Salt the doors and windows, keep one hand on the shotgun at all times and if a vampire shows up, cut its head off," Adam recited tonelessly. Louise nodded.

"Good. Be back in half an hour."

-LW-

"Are you sure I should be coming?" Adam said, eyeing the suit that Louise was holding out to him. "I'm sixteen. Do you really think I'll pass for a fed?"

"Fair enough," Louise conceded. "Alright, then. Will you be alright to stay here?"

Adam shrugged.

"Sure. Not like I'm missing out on anything."

"True. So Cas and I'll go and check out the bodies and interview the families – not that they'll know anything. Stay here, don't leave the room and don't let your machete out of sight. They shouldn't show up during daylight but you never know."

"Aye, aye, captain," Adam saluted. Louise gave him a bitchface, smoothing down her coat and skirt uncomfortably, and then turned and smiled at Cas.

"C'mon, Cas! Ready to go poke at dead bodies?"

She pulled Cas out of the room. As soon as the door closed, Adam crossed over to one of the beds and fell back onto it with a long sigh. He liked his half-sister – he really did – but sometimes, he needed a break from her and his half-brothers.

Half-siblings. Adam still couldn't believe it, even though he'd been with Sam, Dean and Louise for two months. Dean still seemed a bit iffy around him but Sam and Louise had quickly taken to him, not treating him any less for being their father's 'unwanted' son, and Adam appreciated that. He knew that it was a stretch to treat him as 'one of the gang' but hey, they included him and didn't treat him like shit so he wasn't complaining.

When his stomach rumbled, Adam pushed himself up with a groan and stumbled over to the small table, where there was a small bag of leftover fast food. Cursing the fact that there was no microwave in the damn room, Adam unwrapped an untouched burger and took a large bite, grimacing at the flavour of cold, greasy meat. But it was food, so he wasn't complaining.

The day passed in a slow haze of boredom. There was nothing on TV, he couldn't go outside in case a nasty monster got him and sent him downstairs ten months early and there was really nothing to do. He sort of wished that he'd gone with Louise and Cas, just so that he'd have something to do. And besides, he'd have gotten to poke around with a dead body. That was always fun, especially since he'd wanted to be a doctor. God, that felt so long ago. It was only two months ago that he'd been a normal kid with a single mother, wanting to be a doctor and have a normal life!

When dusky light began to streak through the windows, Adam was lying on one of the beds, trying to sleep since there was really nothing else to do. Where the hell were Louise and Cas? They'd probably stopped on the way to get food, or maybe they were trying to track down these vampires since it was getting dark. Suddenly, he heard a small noise outside and he bolted upright, staring around warily.

"Hello?" he said quietly. There was no reply. But a bad feeling was writhing in his stomach, so Adam quickly snatched up his machete and jumped to his feet, eyes flicking around. It was silent for a moment, a moment in which Adam began to think that maybe he was overreacting and imagining things, when –

SMASH. The door was kicked in and Adam gulped and raised his machete when he saw a pair of silver eyes gleaming at him in the dimming light. The silver sheen faded as the owner of the eyes stepped smartly into the room but that didn't make the monster any less terrifying. Even though it was just a woman with blonde-streaked brown hair, dressed in ripped jeans, a black T-shirt and a leather jacket, Adam could sense that she was trouble.

"You could've just knocked," he forced himself to say, hoping that his voice didn't break or sound weak. The woman grinned, sharp fangs sliding out of her mouth, and Adam noticed that the chick behind her – with dark brown hair, dark jeans and a pale denim jacket – did the same.

"That takes all the surprise out of it," Leather said in the typical 'cool' voice that Adam had been expecting from someone looking like her. "You a friend of Louise Winchester's?"

"Who's asking?" Adam tightened his grip on the machete.

"Just an old friend. I know Louise from a year ago. Heard she was in town and thought it was rude of her not to say hi."

"You're a vampire. You killed those people."

Leather rolled her eyes.

"Well, _duh_. I had to get her attention _somehow_. I do wish the whole gang had come, though. Not quite the same without that overly large buffoon and overcompensating tough guy."

"That trench coat guy with her was _hot_ ," Denim spoke up. Leather smiled tightly.

"You can have him once we get him. For now…how about we take Shortie here for a spin?"

She lunged so fast that Adam nearly missed her. He swung his machete at her, slicing her across the face, and she let out a snarling hiss and extended her teeth again.

"You little bastard!" she growled. Adam dodged an attack from Denim and raised his machete to attack again but Leather grabbed his wrist and squeezed it until he let out a pained cry and dropped the blade. In one swift movement, Adam found his arms pinned to his side as Leather held him against her tightly.

"Nighty night," Denim grinned. Adam only had time to let out a groan before the hilt of the machete slammed into his forehead. Colours burst in his vision, which soon gave way to black.

-LW-

"That was a big day of nothing," Louise complained, pulling up to the same fast food place from last night. "The families knew nothing and we didn't even have to look at those bodies at the morgue to know that it was a vampire."

"We are still no closer to finding the location of their nest," Cas said in annoyance. "What do you think we should do now?"

"Well, I'm starved," Louise declared. "I'm going to get something to eat. I'm sure Adam would love some hot food too. You coming in?"

Cas shook his head. Louise grimaced; while he didn't have to eat, he could but was very reluctant to – almost as though it tauntingly reminded him that he was no longer an all-powerful angel.

"Okay. Wait here, then. And be careful. We don't know where those vamps are."

Louise got out of the car and entered the restaurant, wishing that she had her leather jacket. She didn't like how people seemed to judge her in her official clothing – 'Oh, look over there! Another respectable professional! Why is she deigning to visit a craphole like this?'

It didn't take long for Louise to get her food and then she left the diner. However, she froze when she returned to the Cadillac and found the shotgun door hanging open and streaked with blood. And no Cas!

"Cas!" she cried, dropping the food. "Crap! Cas, where are you?"

There was no reply. A sinking feeling in her stomach, Louise snatched up the food, threw it into the car, leaned over from her seat to shut the shotgun door and then reversed out of the parking lot. She made it back to the motel in record time and, just remembering to lock the car, she sprinted back to the motel room, skidding to a halt when she saw the demolished door.

"No, no, no!" she moaned. "Adam! Adam, are you there?"

Nobody answered. Louise stumbled inside, clapping her hands to her mouth when she saw the drops of blood on the ground. The vampires had Adam and Cas! But why? Why would they go after her friends? She fumbled around in her pocket for her phone, flicked through her contacts and hurriedly pressed the green button to call Adam. Maybe he'd answer!

"Adam?" she said quickly as soon as Adam's phone was answered. "Adam, are you there?"

"Hey, Louise. Nice talking to you again."

Louise's mouth dropped in horror. She hadn't heard that voice in a year! Suddenly, everything made sense.

" _K-Kate_?"


	6. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An encounter to make Louise realise that if she encounters one more vamp, she might go 'Gordon Walker' on them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own SPN.

**Chapter 6. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge**

“What the hell do you want?” Louise’s mouth was dry and her heart was pounding. “Where are Adam and Cas?”

Kate chuckled darkly.

“What do I want?” she said. “I’m sure you remember Luther?”

Louise unconsciously touched her throat.

“How could I forget?”

“Well, I’m sure you remember that he was my mate. And see, your dad killed him. But since Daddy isn’t alive anymore, I have to settle for next best.”

“Sam and Dean aren’t here.”

“I know. And they’re next. But you want to see your friends alive again? Meet me at the address I text you. Give yourself up and I _might_ consider letting Adam and Cas go. Depends on how vengeful I’m feeling.”

Louise gulped. She knew that Kate wouldn’t let them go but she couldn’t just abandon them! If Adam died…

“Proof of life?” she whispered weakly. There was silence for a moment and then she heard Adam’s pained yell in the background. Her heart clenched at this and she was nearly sick when she then heard a grunt from Cas.

“There’s your proof. But they won’t be alive for long if you don’t get here. And so help me, if you bring that goddamned gun –”

“I don’t have the Colt. It doesn’t have any more bullets anyway.”

“Good. Now, hurry up. I’m in a bad mood and, well…you wouldn’t like me when I’m mad.”

The line went dead. Louise stared at her phone with wide eyes and when it dinged to let her know that she had a text, she opened it with shaking fingers. Okay. She had the address. Now to make that vampire bitch sorry that she’d ever messed with her friends.

-LW-

Adam doubled over, blinking back tears and groaning softly. When Louise had asked for proof of life, he didn’t think that that warranted Kate kicking him in the stomach!

“Dammit,” he hissed. “She’s walking into a trap!”

“Wow,” a male vampire – Mike, Adam knew his name was – said sarcastically. “I can see why they keep you around.”

“Bite me,” Adam snarked. He gulped when he realised that that probably wasn’t the best thing to say to a vampire.

“With pleasure.”

“No,” Kate said sharply. Mike shot her a sullen look. “Not yet. If he loses too much blood, he won’t be able to watch his sister die painfully.”

Adam knew that this bitch must really have hated his father to have gone digging up dirt on him. He felt a surge of pride towards John, Sam, Dean and Louise course through him. There _were_ worse people to be related to…

“Are you okay, Adam?” Cas said, his voice rougher than usual. Adam knew that this was from his pained cries when Denim – Bella – had fed from him, leaving him pale and semi-conscious.

“Been better,” Adam said. “But hey, I could be worse.”

Cas nodded and eyed his angel blade nearby helplessly. Adam tugged at the ropes binding him to the chair but they wouldn’t give, making him groan in frustration.

“Hey, handsome.” Bella was back and she straddled Cas, grabbed his face and pulled him in for what looked like a very disgusting kiss. Adam would have bitten that vampire bitch’s tongue at first but had quickly changed his tune when Cas told him that ingesting vampire blood would turn him and there wasn’t a cure.

“Leave him alone, already,” Adam groaned. He knew he was taking a risk by attracting attention to himself but Cas had already been half-drained and the angel could use a damn break. Bella pulled away and raised her eyebrows at Adam.

“You’re bossing me around?” she said incredulously. “I whacked you in the head and tied you up and you’re bossing me around?”

Adam shrugged. Bella laughed.

“Well, you’ve got spirit, kid.”

“He’s a Winchester,” Kate said. “He’d make a good addition to our nest. I wonder how Louise would feel, being her brother’s first meal?”

Adam gulped, wondering if he could be a ‘vegetarian’ vampire and survive without feeding on humans if it came to it.

“She’s here!” Alexis, a vampire with a cowgirl hat, called. Kate was by Cas’ side in an instant, stuffing a wad of cloth in his mouth and tying a broad strip over his mouth to stop him from spitting his gag out. As Adam groaned, she crossed over to him and did the same to him and when the sound of footsteps grew louder, she rested a sharp knife against his throat. Adam’s eyes nervously flicked to Cas, who was being held hostage by Bella, and he wondered just how Louise was going to get them out of this one.

-LW-

As she snuck into the creepy old house, Louise’s hand closed around her machete before forcing herself to let it go. She’d only brought it to have a weapon nearby, since they would most certainly confiscate it, and to play to their expectations. The vampires would be expecting her to be armed and she didn’t want to disappoint.

“Louise!” a voice chirped. Louise jumped and whipped out her machete as a familiar old enemy appeared in front of her.

“Alexis,” she said with a sickly sweet smile. “Hi. It’s been too long.”

“It really has,” Alexis grinned. “Mind handing over that blade?”

“Yeah, I would.”

“And so would your friends. I’m sure they’d mind a lot.”

Growling, Louise held out her machete for Alexis to take. Alexis smirked and turned around, beckoning to Louise.

“C’mon. This way.”

Feeling naked without her weapon, Louise followed Alexis to the end of the hallway. The vampire pushed open a door and entered the room and when Louise slipped in after her, she was met with the horrible sight of Adam and Cas, bound to chairs and gagged with knives at their throats. Could that even kill Cas? Or was he still angel enough to survive a slit throat? Louise took a deep breath and forced herself to play it cool.

“Hi, guys!” she trilled. “I’ve _missed_ you all! And look, you’ve got a few new friends! Oh, I remember you, Mike! And Bella! How _are_ you?”

“Brilliant,” Bella replied. Her hand tightened in Cas’ hair, pulling his head back further, and she ran the blade over his throat softly enough that it didn’t break the skin. Cas made a sound behind his gag.

“And Kate.” Louise gave Kate a very frosty smile. “If you wanted to talk, you could’ve just called me.”

“But then you would’ve missed the party!” Kate said. “You’re the guest of honour.”

“I’m flattered. Look, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere so why don’t you let Adam and Cas go?”

Kate ran her fingers through Adam’s hair. Adam shuddered.

“I can’t,” she sighed. “Y’see, Adam here’s your half-brother. John’s son. And since John killed my mate, I can’t just let Adam walk free. And as for Cas? Well, Bella’s taken a real shine to him. And who am I to deny her something she wants?”

Bella grinned.

“Gee, I certainly didn’t see this coming,” Louise said monotonously. “Whoever expected this plot twist?”

There was a moment of tense silence, in which Louise and the vampires eyed each other up. Then Louise sprang into action, wrenching Cas’ angel blade out of Bella’s hand with her powers and whirling around to hack off Alexis’ head smoothly. Kate shrieked with rage and Louise quickly turned and blasted her away from Adam before she could cut his throat.

“Get her!” Kate bellowed. Louise dodged Mike and tried to cut his head off but he moved too fast, so that she only grazed his neck. Her eyes landed on Adam and Cas, who were still bound and gagged. They were her priority! She had to get them free!

Turning back around, Louise let out a roar and a huge burst of power that sent all of the vampires crashing into the walls. However, this left her feeling drained, her limbs almost jelly-like, and she staggered over to Cas and shakily sliced through his bonds, leaning on his chair for support. The minute his hands were free, Cas reached up and undid his gag.

“You okay?” Louise said heavily.

“I seem to be a little low on blood but I am more than capable of defending myself,” Cas rasped. Louise nodded.

“Right. Just…free Adam and – and get outta here. I’ll…take them.”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and turned to face the other vampires.

“Bring it on, dickwads!” she shouted. Mike seemed to take this as an invitation to dive at her but Louise danced out of the way and brought the angel blade down through his neck, finally cutting his head off.  She then spun around but Bella was way too close for her to react in time and she was brought crashing down to the floor, winded and with a pissed vampire on top of her.

“You’re dead!” Bella hissed, grabbing Louise by the throat. Louise choked and tried to summon up one more burst of energy but the surge from earlier had drained her and she knew that if she blasted Bella, she’d drop like a stone and it would be near impossible for her to get out when unconscious. She tried to raise the blade but Bella pinned her wrists to the floor, extended her fangs and leaned in. Louise closed her eyes, preparing for the searing pain.

Only it never came. Instead, Bella’s weight shifted and lightened and when Louise opened her eyes, she saw that this was because Bella’s headless corpse was sliding off her, courtesy of Cas and the machete in his hands.

“Thanks!” Louise panted, accepting his helping hand. “Swap ya?”

They quickly switched weapons and, while Cas took care of the remaining vampires (and hey, turned out that stabbing them with an angel blade was just as good as decapitation!), Louise searched for Kate. She didn’t have to search long.

“Louise!” Adam cried in pain. Louise spun to see Kate pinning Adam to the wall, her fangs buried deep in his throat, while he fought back with weakening punches and kicks. Louise saw red.

“HEY!” she roared. “Get the hell away from my brother!”

Kate’s head whipped around, blood covering her mouth and running down her chin. In the blink of an eye, the vampire was holding Adam to her chest, pinning his arms to his side with one arm and tilting his head to expose his crimson neck with the other. Louise struggled to control her breathing at the sight of her bloody half-brother. She hadn’t gone off the rails in months! She did _not_ need to fall apart again!

“Back off!” Kate hissed. “Or I drain this son of a bitch right here and now!”

Louise froze. What the hell was she supposed to do? Either way, Kate was going to kill Adam. Louise wasn’t stupid! But on the other hand, could she handle being responsible for Adam dying and going to Hell right then and there?

“Put down your weapons!” Kate ordered. Out of the corner of her eye, Louise saw that Cas had also paused and was watching Kate. Remembering how Kate’s mate had done this to her and Dean with Sam and knowing that she had no choice, Louise slowly kneeled and placed her machete on the ground, Cas following suit with his angel blade. The two remaining vampires quickly grabbed them.

“You mind?” Louise muttered when the vampire twisted her wrist painfully. He hissed at her.

“Thank you.” Kate’s eyes were glittering madly. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen.”

Louise found herself losing interest in Kate’s mad ramblings. Instead, her gaze was fixed on Adam, who was staring at her with wide blue eyes. Louise looked down at her machete and then at him and his eyes darted quickly to Kate.

It all happened in a blur of motion. While Kate was distracted, Adam kicked her as hard as he could. This was enough to surprise her into loosening her grip and Adam then head-butted her in the face with the back of his head and broke free. Louise quickly shoved the machete over to him with her foot and he picked it up, turned and decapitated Kate in one move. The vampires holding Louise and Cas seemed stunned and Cas took the chance to break free of his captor’s grip, grab his angel blade and cut her head off.

“Oh, hell no!” Louise snapped when she felt the vampire holding her try and slide an arm around her throat, intending to use her as a hostage. She held out her hand so that Cas could toss his blade over and then she turned in the vampire’s grip and shoved the blade through his throat. His grip slackened as he died and Louise easily extracted herself, grinning widely. Silence fell on the room.

“Friends of yours?” Adam said shakily.

“You could say that,” Louise shrugged. Her hand flew to her throat and she let out a small laugh. “Hey, I didn’t get bitten! I would’ve thought that I’d be half-dead on the floor by now!”

“Good for you,” Adam said snarkily, clutching at his bleeding throat. “Mind telling us about them when we get outta here?”

“Sure thing. C’mon.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Cas said. “Humans are so much frailer and yet…”

“Humans are badass, Cas,” Louise said, rolling her eyes. “It’s not all that bad being one of us.”

Cas didn’t look convinced but he let the matter go.

-LW-

“Kate? That psycho bitch?” Dean exclaimed as Louise, Cas and Adam sped out of Denver the next morning.

“Yep. Said she wanted revenge for Dad killing Luther – but hey, let’s ignore the fact that he quite possibly scarred me for life in favour of being maddeningly in love with him –”

“Stop being a drama queen, Lou.”

“How’d your case go?”

“Just a couple of demons. But mostly just…what’d that demon say? ‘Catering to harmless vice’.”

“So, hookers and drunkards?”

“Pretty much. Sort of a sin city.”

“Ugh. Glad I wasn’t there. I’ll take psycho bitch vampires any day.”

“How far out are you?”

“Just left Denver. We’ll be at Bobby’s by tonight and meet you there when you get back.”

“Great. Also, the Colt’s fixed.”

“What? Really? Bobby got it to work?”

“Nah. Ruby showed her ugly mug and decided to help out.”

“Oh.”

There was silence.

“Well…see ya when we get there.”

Louise hung up.

“I get the feeling your brother doesn’t like me,” a familiar voice said dryly. Louise swore loudly and swerved, nearly running off the road.

“What the fuck?” she snapped. “You could’ve killed us, Ruby!”

Ruby just shrugged.

“I have faith in your oh-so-amazing driving skills.” She turned to Adam while Louise seethed. “Hey, kiddo. How you holding up?”

“Nearly drained by vampires but hey, I’m just peachy,” Adam said. Ruby grinned.

“Well, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?”

“What do you want, Ruby?” Cas said.

“Just wanted to check in on my favourite little man. Well, equal favourite. Sam’s a worthy contender.”

“You came from seeing Sam and Dean, didn’t you?” Louise said.

“Just Sam. He seems to tolerate me a little more than Dean does.”

“Gee, I wonder why.”

“Look, I’m trying to help you!” Ruby snapped. “I laid all my cards on the table and I’m working my ass off to try and find Lilith while dodging all those other demons who want my head on a stick!”

“How hard can it be to find one demon?”

“Pretty damn hard when you’re only a lowly demon with witchcraft and she’s the most powerful demon around. I can’t find her with tracking spells and it’s nearly impossible to find her the hard way unless she wants to be found.”

She gave Adam a small, reassuring smile and ruffled his hair.

“Don’t worry, kiddo. We’ll find her and shiv her ass.”

“Yeah.” But Adam didn’t look too reassured.

“You done?” Louise said, her eyes flicking away from the horrible, twisted face in her rear view mirror. “‘Cause you’re stinking the car up. I hate the smell of demon in the morning. And you don’t look any better.”

Ruby rolled her eyes.

“Yes, I’m done passing on information when I don’t have to and could just keep it to myself. I don’t even get a thanks for my efforts.”

“Thanks, Ruby,” Adam said. Ruby smiled at him.

“Thank you,” Louise forced herself to say, though the words burned her mouth. Ruby’s smile turned smug.

“See? That’s all I wanted. Well, I’ll be off. Try not to get this little cutie pie here killed early.”

“I’m not a cutie pie,” Adam scowled. Ruby grinned teasingly.

“Of course you’re not. Later.”

She vanished, leaving behind a faint stench of sulfur.

 _‘What the hell would Dad think of us now?’_  Louise wondered, trying not to gag.


	7. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise snaps at Adam for pushing, then explodes when Cas does the same to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.
> 
> Let me just say that Louise's views on mental disorders are NOT shared by me in ANY way. I'm just being true to her character but I thought I'd better put a warning here. And the bonding scene? I know it was at the end of 'Fresh Blood' (which is about four months after 'Sin City') but I'm moving it to months earlier because of reasons. Not that it really matters when it's set, right?

**Chapter 7. Interlude**

"You okay?" Louise said to Adam as they pulled over so that Dean could check out what was wrong with Baby. Her car, meanwhile, was now kept at Bobby's unless she went off without Sam or Dean and therefore needed a mode of transportation.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Adam said in confusion.

"Help me with this, Lou?" Sam called from the trunk, trying to lift the cooler out. Louise just waved him off and walked a little way away with Adam, so Cas went to help.

"You've only got nine months left and we're no closer to finding Lilith," she said.

"Thanks for reminding me," Adam said darkly. "I mean, Ruby was certain that you could help but hey, I'm no better off than I was three months ago."

"We're trying!" Louise crossed her arms. "We can't work miracles, Adam. The last guy we saved from a deal? Dean managed to trap the crossroads demon and swap her freedom for his. I really doubt that'll work again. I mean, one of us could probably switch places with you if we grovelled enough –"

"No," Adam said straight away. "You're not going to Hell for me. That'd make me feel even crappier."

Louise grimaced sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I really am, Adam. You don't deserve this."

Adam shrugged.

"I brought it on myself."

"Yeah but you got majorly fucked over."

"Maybe it's for the best. Mom's dead. Dad's dead – not that he was ever much of a dad. Dean puts up with me and I have no clue whether Sam actually likes me or he's just trying. And Cas is a freaking mystery half the time. Sometimes I feel like you're the only one who actually likes me."

"Hey, that's not true." Louise reached out and ran her hand down his arm. "Sam does like you. He's just been the baby brother all his life, so he's still getting used to you. And I know Dean doesn't hate you – he probably just equates you with Dad's 'betrayal' of Aunt Mary. Like, Dad fucked up all of our lives in his mad quest for revenge for Aunt Mary and Mom's deaths and then he goes and has a kid with another woman – when he supposedly loved Aunt Mary that much – and tries to be normal for this kid?"

She sighed.

"I don't remember Aunt Mary as well as Dean does. It's mostly Mom that I remember. I just think that Dean's trying to cope."

"He's had three months."

"Dean's world's always been black and white. This is good, this is evil. This is right and this is wrong. I think that between being sort-of-but-not-quite friends with a demon and learning that angels are dicks and that not all monsters are bad and that Dad had another kid, everything's just really weird for him. He'll come around."

"Yeah, when I'm a hellhound's chew toy."

Louise winced.

"How about we not talk about that," she said shakily. "Because let me tell you now, being mauled by a demonic pit bull is _not_ fun."

Adam shot her a curious look.

"That guy that we saved from his deal. The hellhound after me…let's just say that tripping over is not advisable."

Adam turned a sickly grey colour.

"You –?"

"Died. Yep. Then Cas brought me back right before he started to fall. Fucked me up for months, between that and getting torn to shreds on the inside by Azazel and then possessed and murdering people later. Even now, I still can't handle bloody corpses and dogs. I think the nightmares are finally starting to go, though."

Louise didn't know why she was so…open with Adam. Maybe because he wasn't Sam or Dean and therefore, she didn't care about his opinion of her as much.

"Only Cas knows that I went through shit and that's 'cause he caught me after a nightmare. He told Dean but I think we've been too busy, so he forgot."

Adam stared at her incredulously.

"You had PTSD?" he said. Louise froze.

"Say it louder," she spat. "I don't think they heard you. And to answer your question, no. I don't have anything and I never did. End of story."

"Uh, Mom told me about it. Said that her dad had it. Sounds like you've got a bit of –"

"Adam, drop it."

"It's not a bad thing to admit it, Louise!"

"Yeah, it is!" Louise rounded on Adam. "You know what Dad would say if he was here? He'd tell me to suck it up and grow a pair and stop being a cry baby because that stuff is weakness and admitting weakness can get you killed. So no, I don't have some fucked-up thing that you get when you can't handle shit!"

Adam glared right back at her.

"It's not weakness. It's normal when you go through a tonne of crap. And if you don't acknowledge that you have it? You're never gonna get better. 'Cause when I do end up getting shredded, you're probably gonna go right off the rails again. So if I were you, I'd admit that you do need help because there's nothing wrong with that! And y'know what? The fact that you've made it this far without giving up? That's strong. You're not weak, Louise, or you'd have curled up and given up on life."

Louise gaped at Adam. When did he become so…Dean-like? And when did the seventeen year old get so wise?

"Whatever," she finally forced out. "I mean, I'm grateful that you care and that you spoke your mind but…I'm fine, Adam. If I do acknowledge that there's something wrong – which there really isn't – then do you know what that makes me? Broken. And I'm not broken. Dean's been through more shit than I have but you don't see him freaking out over stuff like I do and being weak. So I can't. I just can't. Sam looks up to me and I've fought my whole life to prove that I'm as good as Dean and I don't need my mind fucking it all up."

Louise looked away, feeling a heavy weight descend upon her. They were silent.

"Hey, kid!" Dean called. Adam turned to look at Dean, who was leaning inside the front of the Impala. "Get your ass over here!"

Adam shot a curious look at Louise and went to see what Dean wanted. Louise gave him a moment before following, ignoring Sam and Cas' questioning looks.

"What?" Adam said. Dean gestured to the car in response.

"This rattle could be a couple of things. I'm thinking an out-of-tune carb. What about you?"

Adam blinked in confusion.

"Sure…"

"What's he doing?" Sam whispered to Louise when he and Cas reached her. Louise shrugged.

"No clue."

"See this thing, Adam?" Dean pointed. "It's a valve cover. Inside are all the parts on the head. Hand me that socket wrench." Adam snatched it up and handed it over. "You with me so far?"

"Valve cover covers the heads," Adam recited. Louise grinned at Sam, who smiled back and slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Very good. Now this is your intake manifold, okay, and on top of it?"

"It's uh…uh…crap…"

"Carburettor," Sam put in. Dean rolled his eyes at him.

"Nice one. Tell him the answer, bitch."

"I just did, jerk."

Adam grinned.

"What's with the sudden Mechanics 101?" Louise said. Dean shrugged.

"It's been three months. Thought I should finally start being nice to him if he's lasted this long with us."

Louise snorted.

"Besides, he's just a kid. Not his fault that he was born. It's not like he chose our dad to be his as well. And he's our brother, even if only half."

Dean looked uncomfortable after his admission but Adam's grin was so wide that it was splitting his face. Louise felt a rush of affection for both of them.

"What, now?" Adam nodded at the car. In reply, Dean held the socket wrench out to him. "You want me to –?"

"Yep. You fix it, kid."

"You don't even let me _touch_ the car unless you're two feet or less away! Sam and Louise have more car privileges than me!"

"Yeah but Sammy and Lou know how to do this crap," Dean said. "It's time you learned how to fix Baby, Adam. I know this stuff might not help next year but…doesn't hurt to know. And besides, that's my job, right? Show my annoying kid siblings the ropes? I did it with Lou and I did it with Sammy, so now it's your turn."

Adam looked down at the wrench shakily and then leaned into the car. Dean followed suit so that he could 'suitably instruct and encourage' the teenager.

"It's nice to see Dean just like…this," Sam said quietly. "He hasn't been like this in years."

Louise nodded. Next to her, she saw Cas watching Dean with a small, fond smile and she smirked to herself. Whatever was going on between Dean and Cas didn't seem to be going away but she was serious when she said that she didn't do this matchmaking crap.

"Alright, how 'bout we go and do something else?" she said. "Got any cards, Sam? We can teach Cas some card games. Like poker!"

"Yeah, no. Let's stick to something like Go Fish. We're not turning the angel into a gambler."

"Well, Sammy, you're just no fun at all."

It didn't take Cas long to pick up the mechanics of Go Fish but he was quiet and didn't talk unless he had to. Louise suspected that something was wrong with him.

"What's up, Cas?" she said suddenly.

"The Earth's atmosphere. Birds. Clouds. Lots of things."

Louise face-palmed.

"It's a saying. What's wrong?"

Cas frowned.

"Nothing is wrong. Do you have any threes?"

"Go Fish," Louise replied. Sam scowled and handed over a three and Cas laid his pair down neatly. "Don't give me that crap, Cas. I know something's up. Got any fives?"

Neither of them did, so Louise sighed and picked up.

"I'm fine, Louise. There is nothing wrong with me."

"Yeah, right," Sam said. "Got any tens?"

Louise groaned and handed over her ten. She was going to play that one on her next turn!

"Do you have any twos?"

"Go Fish," Sam and Louise chorused. Cas picked up and waited expectantly for Louise to take her turn but she didn't.

"Louise, it seems to be –"

"I'm not playing until you tell us what's wrong, Cas. You've been weird ever since Denver."

Cas snorted darkly.

"Is this another thing about how humanity is weak?"

"No. You and Sam and Dean are strong. Adam is strengthening. But I seem to make as poor an excuse for a human as I did an angel."

"No, Cas! Don't start this again! Being human doesn't make you any less of a being!"

"I'm weak, Louise! I used to level towns simply with my presence! And now a simple vampire can kidnap me and hold me hostage! Even a nephil is more powerful than me!"

"And how many times have Dean and Lou and I been captured?" Sam said. "We always find a way out. You're not weak, Cas. You're just…adjusting."

Cas gave another dark snort. Louise scowled and threw down her cards.

"Okay, you know what? We've been teaching you to use weapons, so you know how to defend yourself. You can still see the weird stuff that I can see, so you've got an advantage over Sam, Dean and Adam. You're good at physical combat. We'll teach you how to wriggle your way out of ropes and chains if you want but you have to stop with all the self-pity, Cas!"

Cas' eyes blazed. Sam slowly began to shuffle away.

"Sitting around and bitching isn't going to help anyone! You think you're weak? Then _do something about it_! You know what I did when I was nearly killed because I couldn't get myself free? I got Dean to tie me up again and again and I worked on freeing myself as fast as I could! Dad did the same to him and the two of us did it to Sam! You're only weak if you bitch about it and don't do anything to fix it!"

Cas seemed to be trying to set her on fire by pure visual force alone but Louise wasn't fazed.

"And you're not a weak person! If you think that you're weak just because you don't have your powers anymore then too bad! You said that you understood the consequences of falling and we will _always_ be grateful that you chose to do that for us but do you know how _shit_ it makes us all feel when you tell us that you fell for us and then complain and whine about it?"

Louise was panting after her rant, her face hot and flushed and her eyes glittering. Before she said something that she would really regret, she turned and stormed off, feeling like a bitch for yelling at Cas like that but also filled with a sense of relieved satisfaction. She needed to say that but oh God, what if Cas hated her now?


	8. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louise has a chick flick moment with Cas and learns that she's not a bad storyteller.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.
> 
> Once I've finished uploading this fic, I'm going to take a break for a few months. I'm trying to work on my own novel while also writing my daily drabbles and other real life stuff and my daily drabbles take priority over this.

**Chapter 8. We Wish You a Merry Christmas**

When Louise heard footsteps approaching, she winced.

"Sorry about before," she said. "I just…lost it. You didn't deserve that, Cas."

"No." Cas sat down on the grass next to her. "You were perfectly right to say all of that, Louise. I needed that…what do you call it?"

Louise's lips twitched.

"Kick up the ass."

"Yes. I needed that…kick up the ass. You are right. Ever since falling, all I have done is complain when I should be working on bettering my skills."

Louise reached out and took Cas' hand, clasping their fingers with a small smile.

"I should've been a bit more understanding. I mean, you're not even a human but you're not really an angel anymore. I sorta get it. I'm human but…I'm not? If that makes sense."

"It makes perfect sense. You are more human than angel, however. You have a human soul and are for all intents and purposes a human. You just have several heavenly abilities. That makes you different to monsters such as vampires and werewolves, which used to be human. Their souls have completely changed to become monstrous."

Cas sighed.

"I am the opposite to you. I am more angel than human. I still have grace rather than a soul, only angelic weapons can kill me and I am still affected by holy fire and angelic warding. I'm an angel but I'm not."

Louise rubbed her thumb over the back of Cas' hand.

"Freaks gotta stick together, right?" she said. Cas gave her a soft smile. "Hey, do you think I'd have any angelic weaknesses? Like, could I step through holy fire or would it kill me? I seem to be able to get through angel warding fine."

"That warding was designed to prevent me from locating Sam, not entering his location," Cas said. "We would have to test these weaknesses. It would be useful to know what affects you and what does not, or if you are only partially affected."

"There we go," Louise said. "You can go all 'angel bondage' on me and I can go 'human bondage' on you. And hey, I kinda like you as a not-full angel. Means that you're not zapping off everywhere. I like it when you stay with us."

Cas' smile widened. Louise grinned, let go of his hand and held out her arms.

"C'mere. Bring it in, Cas."

Cas shuffled closer and wrapped his arms around Louise. Louise hugged him tightly back, feeling warm and fuzzy and happy and just wanting to stay in that moment.

"I like this sensation," Cas said. "Hugging feels…nice."

"I know. I can never hug Dean unless he lets me but Sammy loves hugs just like me. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, right?"

She pulled back and poked at Cas' stomach with a teasing grin. Cas looked down at himself.

"Yes. That is an apt description of what it feels like to hug someone. And hugging is good for your health as well."

Louise raised her eyebrows.

"You trying to scam more hugs out of me?"

Cas chuckled.

"No. But when I could sense changes in the human body, I noticed that when you hugged me, your body contained higher levels of oxytocin and serotonin."

Louise blinked.

"In English?"

"That was in English."

"Uh, no. That was Chemical. I don't speak Chemical."

"Oxytocin is the hormone released during sex. It is what allows you to feel closer to your partner."

Louise grimaced.

"Oh. That's the 'love hormone' that everyone keeps harping on about."

"Yes. But it is also released during hugging and it is what helps you to feel better and closer to the person you are hugging."

"What about that serotonin stuff?"

"Serotonin helps you to feel happier and safer, hence why you feel happier when you hug someone."

Louise grinned at Cas.

"You're worse than Sam. Come here, you little nerd."

She hugged Cas again, not planning on letting go any time soon (at least until Dean showed up). Was it possible to get addicted to hugs? Because if so, she was hooked!

-LW-

That had been five months ago, back in July. Now, in December, Louise was more than a bit on edge. In those five months, they'd handled a case where fairy tales were coming to life courtesy of a girl in a coma from when her evil stepmother had tried to poison her, a ghost ship that was killing people who'd offed their relatives (bad for Bela, who'd iced her parents, but good for their pockets, as Bela had paid them five grand each rather than thanking them and therefore owing them) and a vampire who was trying to rebuild his family by kidnapping teenage girls and turning them. Louise was vividly reminded of Kenny and Agnes. But now it was nearly Christmas and not only did Adam only have just over four months left and they were no closer to freeing him but it was his last Christmas! And he was stuck with them, the family that absolutely sucked at celebrating it!

Now they were in Ypsilanti, Michigan, trying to find out why a guy in the town had disappeared. The only clue they had so far was a tooth in the chimney, which only told them that the guy probably wasn't still in one piece. Louise had struggled not to hurl upon imagining a bloody, mangled mess.

"So, was I right?" Dean said in their motel room once he was back from food shopping. "Is it the serial-killing chimney sweep?"

"Yep," Sam said seriously, though Louise could see him struggling to conceal a smile. "It's actually Dick Van Dyke."

"Who?" Dean said. Cas looked equally confused.

"Mary Poppins!" Louise said. Dean and Cas just looked confused.

"Oh, come on!" Adam said. "You have to know – oh, never mind."

"Well, turns out that Walsh is the second guy snatched this month," Dean said.

"The other guy get dragged up the chimney as well?" Sam asked as Louise snatched a bag of chips from Dean's groceries, ignoring his glare.

"Dunno," Dean said. "Witnesses said they heard a thump on the roof. So, what the hell do you think we're dealing with?"

Sam laid out his theory of 'evil Santa', claiming there was all sorts of lore about anti-Claus, but Dean refuted this by saying that there wasn't even a Santa.

"Yeah, I know," Sam said. "You're the one who told me that, remember?" Dean looked down guiltily and Louise bit her lip and looked away. "Yeah, I'm probably wrong. I…I gotta be wrong." He shut his laptop.

"Maybe, maybe not," Dean said mysteriously.

"What?"

"I did some digging. Turns out both vics went to the same place before they got snatched."

-LW-

"Well, I can certainly believe in an anti-Claus from this place," Louise drawled from outside Santa's Village, where loads of people in costumes were walking around. She wrinkled her nose at a guy in an elf costume when he tried to offer her a free candy cane and he just shrugged and walked off.

"That was a bit of a bitch move," Adam said. Louise just shrugged.

"We should have a Christmas this year," Dean said suddenly. "For Adam."

Adam's face lit up but Sam just scoffed.

"Yeah! We can get a little plastic tree that prickles everyone all the time and decorate it and I can put the angel on top!" Louise said excitedly. Dean chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"Why would you put an angel on top of a tree?" Cas said.

"It's tradition, Cas!" Louise grinned. Cas stared at her. "Oh, fine. We've got our own little angel here anyway."

"Those weren't exactly Hallmark memories for me, you know," Sam said.

"What? What you talking about? We had some great Christmases!" Dean said. Louise shifted uncomfortably, knowing that this wasn't exactly true.

"Whose childhood are you talking about?" Sam scoffed. Dean kept nagging but Sam finally snapped, making Dean bitch-face him and walk away.

"What's he talking about?" Adam said. Louise grimaced when even Cas looked at her curiously.

"We've had some pretty crappy Christmases…"

" _What's that?" twelve-year-old Dean asked little eight-year-old Sam, who was wrapping something with newspaper. Nearby, twelve-year-old Louise's eyes were glued to the TV._

" _A present for Dad," Sam responded._

" _Yeah, right. Where'd you get the money? Steal it?" Dean said._

" _No. Uncle Bobby gave it to me for him."_

" _What is it?"_

" _A pony." Sam's voice dripped with sarcasm. Louise's head whipped around, the TV forgotten._

" _A pony? Where?" she said excitedly._

" _Nowhere, Lou. Sam's just being stupid again," Dean said, coming over from the window to sit on the couch next to Sam._

" _Dad's gonna be here, right?" Sam said. "It's Christmas!"_

" _He knows and he'll be here. Promise."_

" _Yeah, right," Louise mumbled. "When's he ever here?"_

" _Don't talk like that, Lou!" Dean slapped the back of her head and Louise cried out and glared at him. Sam began to pester him about what John did but Dean and Louise used the excuse they always used: selling stuff._

" _Is Dad a spy?" Sam said._

" _Yep," Dean responded. "James Bond. Code name double-oh-seven."_

" _Why do we move around so much?" Sam complained._

" _Cause everyone gets sick of your ugly mug."_

" _That's not nice!" Louise snapped. "Say sorry to Sammy!"_

" _Um…no," Dean smirked at Louise._

" _I'm eight years old, Dean! I'm old enough! You can tell me the truth!" Sam said._

" _You don't wanna know the truth."_

" _Is that why we never talk about…Mom? And Aunt Cathy?"_

_Louise froze. Dean angrily threw a magazine across the room._

" _Shut up! Don't you ever talk about Mom and Aunt Cathy like that, ever!" he yelled. He headed for the door and slammed it shut behind him, leaving Sam to watch the door sadly._

" _Lou?" he mumbled._

" _Don't." Louise's voice was uncharacteristically sharp and she snatched up her colouring books and worn-out pencils and started to colour in a picture._

"That sucks," Adam said sympathetically.

"Don't," Louise snapped. "Not like bad Christmases were the worst thing to ever happen. I don't need your pity. Just…don't hold your breath for one this year. C'mon, Sam and Dean are over there."

"Well, the lore says that the anti-Claus walks with a limp and smells like candy," Sam was saying as they approached. That made sense. If you were going to snatch people, they'd be more likely to come to you if you smelled appealing, especially children. Louise looked around. Nearby, a boy was sitting on a Santa's lap and the fake Santa was giving him the creepiest grin.

"Santa's got a special gift for you!" Fake Santa's creepy laugh sent shivers up Louise's spine.

"Guys, check out that dude," she said, pointing. "He's got pedo vibes practically rolling off him. Reckon he's our guy?"

"Welcome to Santa's Court!" a chirpy brunette woman in an elf costume said. "Can I escort your child to Santa?"

"No, no," Dean said, quickly seizing the opportunity. "But our brother over here…well, it's been a lifelong dream of his."

"He never got the chance as a child," Louise said in mock sorrow. She leaned in to stage-whisper. "He's practically damaged from it."

Adam grinned, joining in the fun.

"He was never the same afterwards! Poor guy, right?"

"Uh…sorry." The woman looked at Sam as though he was a freak. "No kids over…twelve."

"No, they're just kidding." Sam threw dirty looks at his brothers and sister. "We just came here to watch."

The woman looked at Dean, who shook his head.

"Eww!" she said in disgust, backing away.

"What? I – I didn't mean that we came here to – thanks a lot, guys."

Dean, Louise and Adam cackled, while Cas just looked confused.

"Not bad, kid," Dean said, clapping Adam on the shoulder. Adam grinned widely but they immediately grew serious when fake Santa stood up and limped away heavily. As he passed, Louise got a whiff of candy.

' _Huh, so anti-Claus_ does _exist!'_ she thought.

Later that night found them spying on fake Santa's house while Dean tried to get to the bottom of Sam's Grinchy attitude about Christmas. When a woman started to scream, the five of them burst inside but they only found a grungy, half-dressed man watching porn with a bong in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. To cover up their mistake, all of them except for Cas started to sing a very out of tune version of Silent Night, pretending to be carollers, even though they couldn't actually remember the words. Fake Santa grinned and joined in but Cas just stood there awkwardly, as though wondering what the hell was going on.

"Well, that was fun," Louise said once they got out of there. "Let's never do that again."

"I don't understand. What just happened?" Cas said.

"Better that he thinks we're crappy Christmas carollers than bloodthirsty maniacs," Dean said, ruffling Cas' hair. Louise saw him lean into the touch, though barely.

"So these Christmas carollers…they go to houses and sing carols?"

"Yep. Kinda weird if ya ask me but hey, to each their own."

-LW-

The next day, the five of them learned that another man had been taken and Sam noticed that the Caldwells had a wreath that he'd also seen at the Walsh house.

"Well, we're not dealing with the anti-Claus," Sam said when he got off the phone to Bobby.

"What'd Bobby say?" Dean said.

"That we're morons," Sam replied. Louise suppressed the urge to laugh hysterically. "He also said it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths."

Meadowsweet turned out to be a powerful plant that acted like a magnet for pagan gods, who would then snack on any humans that happened to be around.

"It's not as crazy as it sounds," Sam said. "I mean, pretty much every Christmas tradition is pagan."

"But Christmas is Jesus' birthday," Dean pointed out.

"No," Cas said. "Jesus Christ was born in the fall. Christmas is the pagan winter solstice festival – Yule – that was taken by the Church and renamed Christmas."

"What he said," Sam agreed. "The Yule log, the tree, Santa's red suit – they're all remnants of pagan worship."

"Yeah? And, what, the Easter Bunny's Jewish?" Louise scoffed.

"Actually, the Easter Bunny is a pagan fertility symbol," Sam corrected smugly.

"Whatever."

After deciding that they had to figure out who was making the wreaths, they spoke to a shop owner who told them that a lovely old lady called Madge Carrigan had made the wreaths and given them to the owner for free, claiming that they were special.

"Did you sell them for free?" Dean said.

"Hell, no," the owner scoffed. "It's Christmas. People pay a buttload for this crap."

"That's the spirit," Dean smirked as Adam snickered. Louise laughed behind her hand. But it was pretty suspicious – if meadowsweet was so rare then the wreaths would be pretty expensive, yet this Madge had just given them away for free?

-LW-

"Hey, remember that wreath Dad brought home one year?" Dean said when they were back in their motel room that night.

"The one he stole from, like, a liquor store?" Louise laughed. That was one of her more vivid memories.

"Just a bunch of empty beer cans," Dean grinned. "It was great." Sam just looked exasperated. "I bet if I looked hard enough, I could find another one just like it."

"Dude, what's going on with you?" Sam said suddenly. "Why are you suddenly so into Christmas?"

"Why are you so against it?" Dean countered. "Your childhood memories can't be _that_ traumatic!"

"That's got nothing to do with it," Sam said. "I – I just – I don't get it. You haven't talked about Christmas in years."

"Well, this _is_ Adam's last year," Dean said. "The kid deserves a last Christmas in case we fail miserably – which is looking more and more likely. Sorry, kid."

"I'm kinda expecting it now," Adam said in resignation.

"But that's why we can't!" Sam said. "Adam…he's the kid brother I never wanted! How can we just sit around, drinking eggnog and pretending that everything's okay when next Christmas, he'll be dead? He's seventeen! He doesn't deserve this and we're just gonna pretend that everything's fine and dandy?"

They lapsed into silence.

"Do you mind telling us more about that Christmas when you were twelve?" Cas said. Louise sighed and stood up to go and collapse on a bed, Adam and Cas following.

"Gather 'round, piggies –"

"Quit with the references, Lou!"

"– and let Auntie Louise tell you a story."

" _Thought you went out," Sam said when Dean returned with a paper bag._

" _Yeah, to get dinner." He threw a pack of food at Sam and another at Louise, nailing her in the head and making her cry out. "Don't forget your vegetables." He tossed Sam and Louise a bag of Funyuns each._

" _Dean!" Louise snapped when the bag hit her hand. "You made me mess up my drawing!"_

" _Boo hoo," Dean mocked, taking off his jacket and opening a can of drink._

" _I know why you keep a gun under your pillow," Sam said. Louise froze. "And why we lay salt everywhere."_

" _No, you don't. Stay out of my stuff," Dean snapped. In response, Sam pulled out John's journal. Louise's eyes widened._

" _Where'd you get that? Dad's gonna kick your ass!" Dean exclaimed. He turned to Louise. "I thought you were keeping an eye on him!"_

" _I was!" Louise protested. "I swear!"_

" _Are monsters real?" Sam asked. Dean tried to deny it but Sam wouldn't be dissuaded, so Dean sighed and confirmed this and explained that their dad fought these monsters. Sam was scared that the monsters were going to come and get them but Louise firmly told him that John was the best and wouldn't let himself get caught and he wouldn't let the monsters get them either._

" _I read in Dad's book that they got Mom and Aunt Cathy," Sam said quietly. "And if they got Mom and Aunt Cathy, they can get Dad. If they get Dad, they can get us."_

" _It's not like that," Dean said. "Dad's fine. We're fine. Trust me. You okay?"_

" _Yeah." Sam looked away._

" _Hey, Dad'll be here for Christmas. He always is."_

" _I just wanna go to sleep, okay?" Sam said. Louise immediately left her colouring book and went to tuck Sam in to bed like she did every night. Ever since she was old enough to know what a mom did, she'd tried her hardest to do to her brothers what her mom had done to her and though Dean resisted, Sam welcomed it._

" _Hey, don't cry, Sammy!" Louise soothed when tears slid down Sam's cheeks. "It'll be all better when you wake up. You'll see."_

_Sam just cried harder, so Louise got into bed with him and hugged him close, letting him cry into his chest. She began to hum a lullaby, which just made Dean look away uncomfortably._

" _What?" she said._

" _You're not Mom," Dean muttered. "Or Aunt Cathy. Stop trying to be like them." Louise felt a stab of pain but she ignored this in favour of humming harder for Sam, who was drifting off to sleep._

"That sucks," Adam grimaced when Louise trailed off. "I take back any bitching I did to Mom when she couldn't afford to give us a huge Christmas."

Louise gave him a small smile.

"You are a wonderful sister," Cas said. "And Dean is an amazing brother."

"D'you mind?" Dean called uncomfortably. Louise just sighed sadly. That had been when Sam had lost his innocence and many times, she had wished that she and Dean had been able to avoid telling him that monsters were real. They'd never had that childlike innocence after Mary and Cathy had died – Sam should have been able to, and for far longer than he had. They'd tried so hard to protect him from the big bad world and sometimes, Louise wondered if she could have done a better job. But at the end of the day, it didn't matter; Sam was still a hunter and they couldn't change the past, so why get hung up over it?


	9. And a Happy New Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out that Sam isn't such a Grinch after all. Also, Louise might need some surgery on that nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.
> 
> This is honestly one of my favourite episodes. The ending legit makes me cry all the damn time!
> 
> Also, I just watched 11x18 and there was a pretty big retcon regarding Michael and Lucifer. I won't go back and change any explanations I did in 'Chaos Theory' until I've got more information but I'm honestly SO confused at the moment.

**Chapter 9. And a Happy New Year**

"So, this is where Mrs Anti-Claus lives?" Louise said as they walked up to a big white house absolutely laden with Christmas decorations.

"Yep," Dean said. "Can't you just feel the evil pagan vibe?" He knocked on the door and they were greeted by a kindly-looking woman with greying hair. Louise was taken aback – she hadn't expected an ugly, monstrous person but she hadn't expected a sweet, old, granny-like person either. But then she blinked and the woman's face seemed to distort for a moment.

"Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan who makes the meadowsweet wreaths!" Dean demanded.

"Why, yes I am!" Madge seemed to be permanently switched on 'sugar high happy' mode, which unnerved Louise quite a bit. Cheerful, perky people always made her suspicious because that was a favourite disguise for monsters – who would suspect a sweet, cheerful sucker? Her eyes flicked to Cas, who shot her an alarmed look in response.

"Bingo!" Dean grinned to Sam.

"We were just admiring your wreaths in Mr Sylar's place the other day," Sam added.

"Oh, doesn't that meadowsweet smell just fine?" Madge trilled.

"Uh, yeah. Problem is, they all sold out before we could buy one and I was really interested in one."

"Oh, fudge!" Despite being sad, Madge still smiled. Louise honestly admired that. She could never seem to smile and be chirpy for more than ten minutes at a time.

"You wouldn't happen to have another wreath that we could buy, would you?" Dean said. Madge told him that those were the only ones she had for the season and then when Dean asked her why she'd decided to make her wreaths out of meadowsweet, she chirped on about how delicious they smelled, something that her dapper-looking husband eagerly agreed with when he came downstairs.

"Man, were those guys creepy," Louise grimaced in the car. "I'd suspect them of being monsters on principle. No one's that…perky."

"But they are the pagan gods that we are after," Cas said. "Their true faces are far uglier than their disguises."

"I thought that Madge's face was a bit weird," Louise agreed.

Later that night, while Dean and Louise sharpened ten evergreen stakes in preparation for the fight ahead, Sam did some research on the Carrigans.

"So get this," he said. "They lived in Seattle last year, where two abductions took place right around Christmas, and then they moved here in January. All that Christmas crap in their house was vervain and mint. Serious pagan stuff."

"So, what, they're stashing a pagan god somewhere?" Louise said. Sam just shrugged.

A little while later found them sneaking into the Carrigan house with their wooden stakes. They found nothing upstairs but tonnes of Christmas crap, so they crept downstairs to the basement, which looked more like a butcher's shop than an actual butchery did. They were so preoccupied were they with their searching that didn't notice the danger until it was too late.

"Sam!" Dean and Louise shouted when Madge grabbed Sam by the throat and slammed him against a wall. They tried to stake the bitch but Mr Carrigan appeared out of nowhere and knocked the stakes out of their hands before smashing Dean into the wall. Louise kicked him in the stomach but he was largely unaffected and he picked her up and threw her bodily against the room. She lay slumped on the floor, wheezing, while Mr Carrigan walked over.

"Merry Christmas?" she gasped out with a weak grin. Mr Carrigan just smirked.

"Merry Christmas to you too, sweetcheeks!" He raised his foot. Louise's last thought before he kicked her in the face was that she would be lucky if her nose didn't break after all the face hits she was taking lately.

When Louise woke up, she found that she was sitting in a chair with her wrists tied to the arms and she groaned. She seemed to be getting tied up a lot these days!

"Lou? You okay?" Sam groaned. He and Dean were sitting back-to-back and Louise was perpendicular to them, facing the living room.

"Yeah." Louise wrinkled her nose and winced at the sudden pain that lanced through her face. "Think by dose is broken, dough. Or baybe just swollen."

Dean snickered and Louise turned her head to glare at him but immediately wished that she hadn't when she caught sight of all the bowls and instruments on the table. Her head immediately swivelled back, her eyes wide.

' _Ah, crap.'_

The Carrigans came dancing into the kitchen dressed in horrible, gaudy Christmas sweaters that even had working lights. Mr Carrigan's was pale blue and decorated with snowmen and snowflakes, while Madge's was red and had little reindeer with light bulb noses. Louise would have killed herself if she'd had to wear something like that!

"Oooh, and here we thought you lazybones were going to sleep through all the fun stuff!" Madge giggled.

"What, and miss all this?" Dean said. "Nah, we're hardcore partiers, man."

"Isn't he a kick in the pants, honey?" Mr Carrigan chortled through his pipe.

"Where are Adab ad Cas?" Louise demanded.

"Oh, the other two?" Mr Carrigan said. "They're down in the basement. We don't want _too_ many sacrifices this year. Don't want to get greedy, now!"

Madge giggled again.

"We'll store them for next year!" she said. "They won't taste as fresh but there's nothing better than hunter meat! And angel flesh! Oooh, I've never tasted an angel before! It'll be well worth the wait!"

"I bet he'll taste scrumptious, Madge," Mr Carrigan agreed. He turned and wagged his finger at Sam, Dean and Louise. "You bad hunters. Can't keep your noses out of our business, can you?"

"And you're pagan gods," Dean said. "So why don't we just call it even and go our separate ways?"

Mr Carrigan just shook his head and said that he didn't want any more hunters on his tail and when Sam spat that they should have thought about that before killing people, Madge wistfully told him about the days where they used to have hundreds of sacrifices and how they now had to make do with two or three.

"Yeah, cause dat's so buch better." Louise wished that she didn't sound like a clogged-up rhino because it seriously detracted from her badassness.

"You, missy, need to show us more respect." Mr Carrigan crossed into her field of view, wagging his pipe at her disapprovingly. The patronising action made Louise's blood boil.

"Or what? You'll eat us?" Sam said sassily. The pure amount of 'bitch, please' in his voice made Louise start to giggle. She'd forgotten just how awesome Sam could be!

"Not so fast!" Mr Carrigan said. "There are rituals to do first!"

It was sickening at how excited the Carrigans got as they laid wreaths of meadowsweet around the trio's necks, buzzing with excitement for the upcoming rituals.

"Here you go, sweetie," Madge cooed as she laid Louise's wreath around her neck. "Be a darling and wear this, won't you?"

"Sure, so long as I don't habe to wear dose ugly sweaters," Louise said. Madge's face fell mock sadly and then she backhanded Louise across the face. Louise grimaced when fresh blood began to pour from her stabbing, throbbing nose and even a little from a cut on her lip. Those gods were damn strong!

"I happen to be very fond of this sweater!" Madge huffed.

"Hey! Don't touch her!" Dean shouted, straining to get free.

"Alrighty-roo, step number two!" Mr Carrigan sang, whipping out a long, sharp knife. Louise gulped and immediately focused on unravelling her bonds, gritting her teeth when Sam let out a yell of pain. Twisting around, she saw that Mr Carrigan had just sliced her brother's arm open and she quickly turned back and tried to free herself. She just managed to get free before her arms were grabbed in an iron grip and forced back down to the chair arms.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Mr Carrigan chortled, wrapping the ropes back around her right wrist. Louise snarled and hit him but this had no effect. "You can't leave! Not when all the fun's starting!"

"Damn it," Dean muttered as Mr Carrigan tied Louise back up. Louise grimaced and struggled as hard as she could but Mr Carrigan's grip was too strong. Keeping her left wrist pinned to the chair, he held the bowl underneath her arm, his bloody knife gleaming in anticipation. As he cut into her arm, Louise wrenched it free with one massive effort but this just left a massive slash all down her arm. She gasped from the shock of the pain and from the blood pouring out of her arm.

"Oh, dear!" Mr Carrigan retied her wrist and carried the bowl to the table. "We'd best finish the rituals before this young lady bleeds out! Wouldn't want her to miss all the fun!"

"Lou! You alright?" Dean hissed.

"Yeah…yeah…" Louise was starting to feel lightheaded. "Jus' fine…probably won't die but still not good…"

The rest of the rituals passed in a blur. Louise remembered certain bits: the Carrigans explaining that they'd assimilated into society after Jesus had hit the scene and taken their followers; Dean furiously calling Madge a bitch and then having her wave a knife in his face while explaining that when she felt like swearing, she said fudge (to which Dean responded with, "If you fudging touch me again, I'll fudging kill you!" Louise found that very funny); and Sam having a fingernail ripped out. Just as the Carrigans were about to pull a tooth out of Dean's mouth, they were saved by the sweet, wondrous doorbell. Louise had never heard a more beautiful sound.

"C'mon!" Somehow, Dean had managed to get free and after untying Sam, they both freed Louise and helped her stagger into the next room. "You alright, Lou?"

"Dean, she's bleeding out!" Sam's voice sounded distant. "Come here, Lou!"

He ripped his shirt and quickly bound her wound, which was starting to ooze rather than stream. Louise was grateful that the Carrigans had missed any arteries or veins or she'd be fucked.

"Take care of the Carrigans!" she said. "I'b going to get Adab ad Cas!"

She darted into the kitchen before Sam shut and locked the door. The sound of the Carrigans returning made her freeze and she quickly dived under the table until they realised that Sam and Dean were in the living room and tried to break the doors down. Louise took the chance to scramble past them to the basement door and thunder down the steps.

"Adab? Cas?" she called.

"Over here!" Adam replied. Louise skidded around the corner to see Adam and Cas slumped against the wall, their hands tied tightly behind their backs and their ankles bound. However, when Louise went to help them, Cas yanked his left hand out from behind him and shook the ropes from his right wrist.

"I freed myself," he said with a proud smile. Louise grinned widely and kneeled down to untie Adam.

"What's with your voice?" Adam said.

"By dose," Louise replied. Adam snickered, so she shot him a glare. "I cad leabe you here."

Adam quickly shook his head, so Louise finished freeing him. Cas snatched up his angel blade from a table nearby and then the three of them sprinted out of the basement to help Sam and Dean. When they entered the living room, they found both Carrigans dead with branches from their Christmas tree sticking out of their chests.

"Merry Christmas!" Dean grinned. Louise just rolled her eyes.

-LW-

" _Hey! Sammy, wake up!" Dean shook his brother awake. "Dad was here! Look what he brought!"_

_Louise beamed at a tiny pine tree strung with fairy lights in the corner, under which were several presents. She and Dean had done the best they could to have a Christmas for Sam and she was proud of their efforts!_

" _Dad was here?" Sam said in astonishment. "Why didn't he try to wake me up?"_

" _He tried like a thousand times," Dean said. "Did I tell you he'd give us Christmas or what? Go on, open them!"_

_Sam jumped out of bed with excitement and went to rip open the presents under the tree._

" _Go on, Lou!" Dean said. Louise blinked._

" _Wait, what?"_

" _You didn't think I wouldn't do anything for you too, did you?" Dean whispered. Louise's face lit up and she ran over to where Sam was tearing into his presents and grabbed her one._

" _But I didn't get you anything!" she hissed when she returned to Dean._

" _I don't want anything," Dean said. "Look at the kid. He's happy. That's all that matters."_

_Even when Sam got a Barbie doll and a cheerleading stick and guessed that John had never shown up, Louise refused to let her spirits sink. She'd gotten a fluffy purple diary and some glitter pens, so now she could write stuff down, and Dean had gone to so much effort to try and make Sam happy, while all she'd done was decorate the tree with stolen lights! That was enough of a present!_

" _I'm sure he would've been here if he could!" Dean insisted to a glum-looking Sam._

" _If he's alive."_

" _Hey, he's Dad! Of course he's alive!" Louise said, though she was beginning to doubt this herself. Sam just nodded, took the present for John out of a jacket pocket and gave it to Dean, insisting that he wanted him to have it instead of John since their dad had lied to them about showing. Dean was thrilled with the present – a gold amulet on a black string._

" _I – I love it!" he said, putting it on. Sam nodded and Louise beamed and began to write in her new diary._

"…and that concludes our best Christmas," Louise said as she and Adam walked back to the motel room. Adam blinked.

"That was your _best_ Christmas?"

"Well, the ones we had when Mom and Aunt Mary were alive were awesome. But Sammy was hardly even alive so they don't count. Hey, come on!"

She pushed the door open.

"Surprise!" she announced, gesturing at the room. Sam, Dean and Cas had done an awesome job of decorating, even if Dean had had to walk Cas through it, and the amazed look on Adam's face was totally worth it!

"You better like it, kid," Dean said. "Took a hell of a lot to get Sammy to stop being a Grinch. And we haven't done this crap in years."

"It's awesome!" Adam laughed. "It's just…thanks!"

He jumped at Dean and hugged him. Dean immediately tried to fight his way out of the teenager's grip.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Enough with the chick flick moment. You get the beer, Lou?"

Louise held up her paper bag. She tossed it over to Dean, who poured some into Sam's glass of eggnog.

"Hey, Cas! C'mere!" Louise pulled Cas away and upturned her plastic bag. Two sets of fluffy white wings and halos fell out.

"What – are these angel costumes?" Cas exclaimed. Louise grinned and picked them up, shoving one into his arms.

"Come on, Cas! Live a little!"

She ripped her costume open, set the halo on her head and then shrugged on the wings. Cas just stared at her.

"Please, Cas? Isn't it just deliciously ironic?"

Cas' lips twitched and he carefully opened his own costume and allowed Louise to help him put the wings on while he put his halo on and fiddled with it.

"These are grossly inaccurate," he complained.

"Who gives a crap?" Louise said. "Hold on! Come here!"

She pulled Cas close to her, rummaged around in her pocket for her phone and held it out in front of her.

"Smile!"

She grinned and snapped the photo. When she looked at it, she laughed at her wide grin and Cas' confused half-smile.

"Okay, that's awesome! Hey, come over here!"

She hauled Cas over to the tiny Christmas tree and directed him to get on the table and hug it while she took a photo.

"Our own angel on top of the tree!" she giggled.

"Stop making cheesy jokes with the angel and come over here so we can open our presents!" Dean called, though he was snickering. Louise scrambled over to them and plopped down on the couch, hitting Dean when her wing got in the way. Cas sat down carefully on the couch between her and Dean, leaving Sam and Adam to take the crappy chairs.

"Merry Christmas, you lot," Dean grinned as they ripped into their presents from him. Sam got porn magazines and shaving cream, while Louise got a bag of peanuts and a diary with a unicorn and fairies on the front. Cas got a Bible and a block of chocolate and Adam also got porn mags, along with some beers.

"You're a man, so you deserve the stuff of men," Dean said to Adam with a serious nod. Adam fought to stop himself from laughing but he couldn't help snorting.

"Seriously?" Louise held up the diary disbelievingly, though she was grinning.

"Well, your purple journal's getting pretty full," Dean shrugged. "So I got you another. You like?" He addressed this question to all of them.

"Yeah!" they nodded, though Louise gave her peanuts to Adam. She didn't need to swell up like a balloon and wreck the night.

"I find this highly unnecessary, seeing as I can quote it verbatim," Cas said, holding up his Bible with a smile. Louise sniggered, remembering conspiring with Dean to get it. "But the thought is touching."

"It's a prank," Dean said uncomfortably. Cas blinked and then chuckled.

"Well, it is a funny prank."

Dean preened. Louise rolled her eyes.

"Open mine now!" Sam insisted, grinning like a little kid. For Louise, he'd bought a pack of glitter pens (Louise was secretly thrilled, though she'd never admit this) and a small bag of jelly beans. Dean got a candy bar and a bottle of oil, Cas got a shotgun that Louise recognised from Baby's trunk and Adam got the first two _Harry Potter_ books, which Sam claimed he'd found in a cheap second-hand shop.

"Hey, food for me and food for my baby!" Dean chuckled.

"I love these books!" Adam said. Cas just stared at his new gun with a wide smile.

"Now open mine!" Louise bounced as Sam, Dean, Adam and Cas tore into the paper and held up their presents. For Dean, she'd bought a car magazine, the latest copy of Busty Asian Beauties (though she'd felt absolutely dirty while doing so) and a can of flowery pink deodorant; for Sam, she'd gotten a pack of hair ties and a bag of chips; Cas got a blue scarf that Louise had found in the gas station and a small pack of mini pre-made pancakes; and Adam got some cheap shirts and snacks. All of the boys got cheesy, girly Christmas cards that Louise had cringed at before deciding that they were perfect.

"Are you hinting at something?" Sam said, holding up the hair ties. Louise just smirked at him and he playfully bitch-faced her.

"Hey, these are all awesome," Dean grinned. "Thanks, you guys."

"Damn straight," Adam said, a wide smile splitting his face. "Thanks for not being a Grinch and for ignoring the fact that we're supposed to play into the commercialisation of a jacked holiday."

Louise choked on her eggnog.

"Now I see why humans celebrate Christmas," Cas said, still smiling. This was the happiest that Louise had ever seen him! "It isn't about what presents one receives. It is about family and giving and being thankful."

"Damn right," Dean said, punching Cas on the shoulder. Cas punched back, beaming, obviously proud that he'd remembered this human custom.

"Merry Christmas, guys!" Louise held up her glass. "We're small and dysfunctional and weird as fuck and one of us is millennia old and overdue a midlife crisis but hey, we're family!"

"Agreed," Dean said as the guys raised their glasses for the toast.

"Anything you want to watch, Adam?" Sam said. "I think there's a game on but if it's not your thing –"

"Hell, yeah," Adam said. "Turn it on."

Sam smiled and turned on the TV. Louise managed to coax him into her seat before stretching out across her brothers and Cas with her head resting on Dean, her side digging into Cas' belt buckle and her legs tucked in Sam's lap, ignoring how her cheap wings were bending and folding under her uncomfortably. Sam lazily began to play with her hair, Dean grumbled something about clingy little sisters with a wide grin on his face and Cas awkwardly draped an arm over her stomach.

"Alright, this isn't working." Louise sat up, took her wings and halo off and threw them at Adam before lying back down. "Put them on, kiddo."

Adam scowled at her but put the angel bits on anyway and moved his chair as close to the couch as possible, leaning against Dean. Dean looked startled at the fact that the teenager was being a 'chick' and resting his head on his shoulder but he didn't say anything, though Louise was certain that this was just because it was Christmas.

As they watched the game and added their own commentary (with Cas asking a tonne of questions), Louise smiled contentedly. Their presents were crap, the eggnog was shit, Adam was going to die in less than a year and she absolutely loathed watching sport of any kind.

But she wouldn't have given it up for the world.


	10. Witches and Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam and Ruby get some bonding happening and Louise isn't doing too well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.

**Chapter 10. Witches and Demons**

"Psst! Adam!"

Adam's eyes shot to the door of their room, where the voice had come from. He looked around quickly at Louise and Cas but the two of them were sound asleep. Quietly, being careful not to wake Cas, he slid out of bed and crept over to the door.

"Ruby?" he whispered.

"Duh," the slightly muffled voice said. "You gonna let me in?"

"No. Louise and Cas would kick my ass."

He heard a sigh.

"Fine. Come out here, then."

Casting one last look back at Louise and Cas, Adam opened the door as quietly as he could. Taking care not to break the salt line, he stepped out into the chilly air and shut the door behind him before the wind could wake his sister and friend. Ruby smiled at him and a strange warmth began to fill him at the sight.

"What's up, kiddo?" she said, ruffling his hair. Adam just smiled, not even bothering to get annoyed at the action. He kinda liked it now.

"I was trying to sleep," he said. "Until you came knocking."

"Sleep," Ruby mused. "Sounds…weird. I haven't slept in centuries."

"It's very enjoyable. You should try it," Adam said sarcastically. Ruby snickered.

"Nice try, kiddo. Ask me again when I'm human, which'll never happen."

There was a pause.

"Why are you here, Ruby? Got anymore sage words of wisdom for us?"

"Surprisingly, no. I came to see you."

Adam blinked.

"Uh…why?"

Ruby shrugged and leaned against the wall of the building.

"Boredom. Loneliness. Even in Hell, where everyone's out to get you, there's that sense of never being alone. Now that I'm out and by myself…I've never felt alone like this in ages. Demons don't usually give a fuck about loneliness but…hey, I'm not normal, am I? I'm working with you lot. That's far from normal for a demon."

Adam's heart ached. He reached out and rested a hand on the demon's arm.

"Right. Well…I'm here if you ever need company. I…kinda know what it's like to be alone as well."

Ruby snorted darkly.

"I'm sure you do."

"Don't be a bitch," Adam said irritably. "My mom was a single mom. So sometimes, I'd be at home and it was far too quiet and I'd feel like going mad. That feeling of being totally alone…it sucks. And I know it's not the same thing you're feeling but…"

Ruby smiled at him.

"That's sweet, kiddo." She looked up at the stars. "Been so long since someone was this…cool around me. Sam's getting there but he still doesn't trust me. And don't even get me started on Dean, Louise and Cas."

"They've been hunting stuff like you their entire lives," Adam said. "They're not gonna just drop everything and trust a random demon. Maybe I'm just stupid or maybe I haven't grown up thinking that all monsters are bad and all humans are good…"

"Probably a bit of both," Ruby grinned. Adam glared at her. "But in all seriousness…ugh, this niceness is fucking with my head, I swear. I've got a set goal and there's something that I have to do but…I'm kinda growing to hate it."

"What, using us for protection?" Adam said. What was Ruby talking about?

"Among other things."

"So you haven't told us everything."

"I'm a demon. No way in hell am I telling you everything. You don't _need_ to know everything. But…you're a wild card, Adam. This wasn't supposed to happen."

"What wasn't supposed to happen?"

"I wasn't supposed to like you this much."

Ruby leaned down and pressed a very quick, light kiss to Adam's cheek.

"Take care, kiddo."

Adam blinked and she was gone Dumbfounded, he raised a hand to his cheek and touched it. What the hell had just happened?

-LW-

Their next case was a little suburban witch coven that turned out not to be quite so little. A woman named Janet Dutton had died suddenly and unexplainably, all of her teeth having fallen out and her mouth full of blood. No one had known how to explain it, until Sam had found a hex bag in the bathroom while they were pretending to be CDC.

"Damn, I hate witches!" Louise muttered once in the Impala. "Last time we met one, she nearly threw me off a frigging building!"

That night, the mysterious witch targeted Paul Dutton, Janet's husband, by infesting his burger with maggots – however, they managed to find the hex bag in his car and save him in time. When they asked who could possibly want him dead, he admitted that he'd had an affair with a woman called Amanda Burns who'd been blackmailing him but he'd ended it a week before.

"Sounds like a vengeful witch," Dean shrugged when they left poor Paul. "It'd explain his wife too." They went to interview Amanda in her house but, to their disgust and horror, they found her dead in her home with her wrists slashed so deep that they were lying in two big pools of blood on her coffee table. Various witchcraft items around her house confirmed that she had been a witch and when they found a maggoty burger next to her, they knew that she'd been behind Janet's murder and Paul's attempted killing.

"Eww!" Louise gagged when she nearly walked into a dead rabbit hanging from the ceiling. "Frigging witches!"

She shoved the rabbit aside and caught another glimpse of Amanda's body. The blood spreading underneath her made it look a lot like her front had been cut open and, swallowing, Louise had to take a step away and close her eyes, trying to get her breathing under control.

"You okay?" Adam said. Louise jumped and opened her eyes.

"What – yeah," she said absently. "I'm fine."

"It's the blood, isn't it? You –"

"Finish that sentence and I will end you."

Louise shoved her way past the dead rabbit over to Sam, Dean and Cas.

"But I don't get it," Sam was saying. "If she was so bent on revenge, why do this?"

"Well, she got the wife, thought she'd finished off hubby and decided to turn it into a soap opera ending," Dean shrugged. "I mean, this doesn't really look like the room of a bright and stable person, you know."

But when Sam pulled out a hex bag from under the glass table, Louise groaned. Terrific. Now they had a witchy bitchy civil war on their hands.

"Witches ganking each other? C'mon!" Dean said in annoyance.

"We seem to be dealing with a coven," Cas said grimly.

-LW-

"Why do I have to stay behind?" Louise complained in the Impala, crossing her arms. Sam, Dean and Adam were interviewing people that Amanda had been close to but five of them would seem very suspicious, so Louise and Cas had been left behind in the Impala.

"Sam and Dean wish to give Adam more experience in the field," Cas said. "This will give him more practice with interrogation."

"Oh, so that's what you lot are going with," Louise muttered darkly. "I saw Adam talking to you. Kid doesn't know how to keep his frigging mouth shut…"

"He was right to tell us," Cas said. "Louise –"

"Don't," Louise snapped. "Don't start, Cas. It's been months and I'm not a nut job. I'm dealing with it."

"If you want to talk –"

"I don't, okay? I'm fine. When will you all get that and leave me alone?"

Cas stared at her for a moment. His face darkened and then Louise suddenly found herself pressed up against the car door and window, Cas looming over her.

"You have been – what is it? Kicking my ass for months," he growled. "Whenever I was being obnoxious or immersed in self-pity, you were always there to tell me off and prevent me from harming myself by continuing along that path. So now it's my turn."

Louise swallowed, her eyes flicking around.

"C-Cas? I don't –"

"Be quiet and listen, Louise." The sharpness in Cas' voice shut her up instantly. "This has been a problem for months. You are not going to 'just get over it'. I observed humanity for thousands of years. I have seen people go through just as much as you have – though admittedly, none of them died. But all of them went through the same ordeal that you are going through after their 'trauma'. And hardly anybody 'got over it'."

"Yeah? Well, they're not me," Louise said, trying not to let her voice shake. "I'm fine, Cas. I didn't think I was going to get better instantly but I'm fine."

"It's been a year, Louise," Cas said. His face had softened but he still didn't look like he was going to let her up any time soon. "You were killed over a year ago. If you are still having difficulties even now, it is unlikely that you will ever 'get better' on your own."

"Why can't you just leave me alone? I'm dealing with it, Cas! When I get my hands on Adam –"

"You will do nothing! He is your younger brother who cares about you and hates to see you suffer in this way!"

"It's none of his business! He should have kept his mouth shut!"

"Like you did to Dean?" Cas said. Louise reeled back, her eyes blazing. "When Dean was suffering in the aftermath of his possession by Azazel, did you simply brush it off? Did you let him suffer? Did you listen to him when he insisted that he was fine? Or did you push him and irritate him and make him talk because you were worried about him?"

"That's – different," Louise said straight away. Cas raised an eyebrow.

"Really? How so? You are his younger sibling, worried about his health and wellbeing and not wanting him to suffer and endure his ordeal alone."

"Yeah and that's different." Louise's mouth was dry. "He's my big brother. He's been looking after me and Sam all our lives. He needed someone there for him for once. It was killing him, being terrified all the time that Azazel was there!"

Cas tilted his head. Louise groaned.

"So you see that you are being hypocritical. You are Adam's big sister and you, Sam and Dean have been caring for him ever since Ruby brought him to us. For once, it is his turn to help you and be there for you. He feels helpless and hates that there is hardly anything he can do to help since you are all vastly more skilled than him. He is trying to help you as best as he can, which means being there for you and ensuring that you get help when you are experiencing a difficult time."

"But –"

"I have spoken to him, Louise. He told me that Sam and Dean are treating him as one of them now but that you were the first one to accept him as a member of your family."

"But he is –"

"Sam and Dean had their understandable difficulties in accepting him as their little brother. But you immediately took to him and cared for him. He sees you as 'the big sister he never wanted' – his words exactly."

Louise looked away, her mouth falling open. Did Adam really care that much? Was that what he really thought about her?

"And just as you helped Dean when he needed it, Adam wanted to help you. I want to help you and I'm certain that Sam and Dean would want to help you if they knew that you were still suffering. Why is it so hard for you to accept help?"

Louise looked down, her eyes stinging.

"Because," she whispered. "If I admit that I need help then I'm weak. And I can't be weak. I've worked my whole life to prove that I'm as good as Dean and that I'm not just his baby sister."

"Then that would make Dean weak for accepting your help."

Louise glowered up at Cas.

"I hate you."

Cas smiled and shuffled away so that Louise could sit up.

"That's the last time I ever teach you about humanity."

"Because you don't like being shown the hypocrisy of your actions?" Cas said. Louise glared at him but hugged him anyway.

"I dunno what it is but I always have this urge to hug you or ruffle your hair or do something," she muttered into his shoulder.

"It may be your angel blood –"

"Always with the damn angel blood. Y'know, I'd like to think that we're actually friends and it's not just my dad fucking things up without actually showing his face like he's been doing lately."

"Just because your angel half is creating the draw doesn't mean that you don't genuinely care for me, Louise. It is just attracted to the race that it came from – even though I am hardly an angel anymore."

Louise rolled her eyes and pulled back to slump in her seat.

"Hey, I've also got a human half. Doesn't mean I'm drawn to humans. I hate people in general."

Cas' lips twitched.

"Humans naturally have duller senses, so it makes sense that your human half wouldn't experience a draw."

"Sure thing, professor."

-LW-

"What the hell?" Sam snapped at Ruby, who had appeared in the middle of the road and made the Impala malfunction so that they had to get out and talk to her.

"Listen to me! You have to get out of town!" Ruby urged. In response, Dean cocked the newly-fixed Colt and aimed it right at her chest.

"Dean!" Adam said.

"Oh, come on!" Ruby snapped. "I've put my ass on the line for you, become Hell's Most Wanted and now I'm coming to tell you that you need to get out of here when I could have just let you guys burn!"

"She's got a point," Adam said. Everyone ignored him.

"Why should we leave?" Louise said. "We can take care of a few witches."

Ruby rolled her eyes so violently that Louise was almost impressed.

"Witches are whores. I don't doubt that you could take care of them. I'm talking about who they serve."

"Demons," Cas said quietly. Louise looked at him in alarm. "These witches are getting their power from a demon."

"And it's here right now," Ruby said. "It knows that Sam's around and it's coming for him. And it's more than you can handle."

"We've handled plenty of demons before," Louise said, crossing her arms. "Why should we turn tail and run from this one?"

Ruby scowled.

"I know about you guys and your prowess. But I know this demon personally and she is a nasty bitch."

Adam tilted his head, frowning at Ruby.

"Did you get your power from her?" he said. "Is that why you're a demon?"

Everybody stared at him. Louise could see Ruby's essence swirling madly inside her host.

"What are you talking about, kiddo?" Ruby hissed.

"You told me last year that you couldn't track Lilith with any spells. So you had to know witchcraft. And the way you're talking about this demon sounds personal."

Ruby didn't say anything.

"Nice work, kid," Dean said. He glared at Ruby. "Well, bitch? That true?"

The blonde demon remained rooted to the spot, her fists clenched.

"Yes," she grudgingly admitted. "I sold my soul to her to become a witch. Then I went to Hell and look at me now. Astaroth is one of the most powerful black-eyed demons and believe me when I say that she will squash you like a bug. I learned that the hard way."

Silence fell on them.

"Can you hide us from her?" Adam said. Ruby sighed loudly.

"Finally, a useful question! Yeah, I can make you a few hex bags that should keep you hidden."

"And, what, we just skip on out and let these witches keep murdering people?" Dean said. "We can't do that, Ruby."

"You can't save everybody!" Ruby said. "One of these days, you're gonna have to learn how to accept when you can't do anything and walk away and this is one of those days! If Astaroth wasn't hanging around then by all means, go and ice those whores! But I want you guys to actually stay _alive_!"

"Shut up!" Sam shouted. Everybody fell silent. "How about we go back to the motel and talk more there?"

Ruby sighed.

"Fine. I'll meet you there. Try not to get killed on the way."

She vanished. Louise wrinkled her nose at the faint smell of sulfur that she left behind.


	11. Whisper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.

**Chapter 11. Whisper**

"I don't trust her," Dean said as soon as they got back to the motel and crowded in Sam and Dean's room.

"Dude, she's been helping us for months!" Adam said. "Can't you at least pretend that you don't hate her?"

"I'm with Adam," Sam said. Louise stared at him incredulously. "Ruby's saved our asses time after time. If she wants us dead, she just has to stop helping us."

"So we're all weak and helpless and relying on a demon for protection," Louise said. "Nice. I don't trust her either. She's trouble."

"And if not for her, I'd have been gutted months ago!" Adam snapped. "She's the reason I'm alive! And she's the reason we've got a working Colt!"

"She wants to help us, so I say we let her," Sam said. Louise groaned and sat down on the bed next to Dean, who was shifting and rubbing his stomach uncomfortably. She frowned at him but he just shook his head.

"Working with a demon is like playing with fire," Cas warned. "It never ends well. Ruby has her own agenda –"

"Protection from Hell!" Adam said.

"Wow, really? I never would've guessed," Dean said sarcastically. "Look, if that was her only game then why would she even turn on Hell in the first place?"

"Why would Cas turn on Heaven?" Sam said. "The angels are apparently douchebags. Demons are definitely giant dicks as well."

"I rebelled for you three because you had become my close friends over months," Cas said in a hard voice. "Ruby's circumstances are quite different. She turned on Hell before even meeting you. She could simply be trying to earn your trust so that she can fulfil her own goals."

Their conversation was forgotten when Dean groaned in pain, bending over and clutching his stomach.

"Dean! What's wrong?" Louise immediately shifted closer to her brother.

"I dunno – ugh – bunch of knives in me –"

"Did you finally get your period?"

Dean didn't even try and glare at her. That was how Louise knew that something was definitely wrong.

"It's gotta be those witches!" Sam exclaimed. "C'mon!"

He, Louise, Adam and Cas frantically searched for a hex bag but, to their horror, they couldn't find one anywhere in the room. As Dean started to cough up blood and doubled over, Louise resorted to using her powers to dislodge everything in the room and Sam even checked inside the mattresses, but to no avail.

"I can't find it!" Louise cried.

"Me neither!" Sam said. As Dean continued to cough up blood, growing weaker by the second, Sam pulled out the Colt and checked it for bullets.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Louise said. Sam ignored her in favour of leaving the room, Adam running after him. "Sam! Son of a bitch!"

"Louise! Dean is dying!" Cas said. Louise kneeled down in front of Dean, waving her hands around helplessly as a small puddle of blood formed underneath his mouth. Her head jerked up when she heard quick footsteps outside and when Ruby appeared in the doorway, she had never been happier to see a demon in her whole life.

"Ruby! Can you save him?" she said desperately.

"Course I can. Let me in."

"You wanna kill me?" Dean choked as Louise scrambled over to break the salt line. "Get in line, bitch!"

"Get him on the bed."

Louise, Cas and Ruby hauled Dean up onto the bed by his jacket and then Ruby forced his mouth open and poured a dark brown liquid into his mouth. When he tried to spit it out, Louise clamped a hand over his mouth until he swallowed it.

"Stop…calling me bitch," Ruby panted triumphantly. Dean lay on the bed, gasping and spluttering, but he wasn't coughing up any more blood, so Louise's face broke into a relieved grin.

"Thanks," she said. "Cas, grab him some water?"

"Next time you point that Colt at me, I won't just disappear," Ruby said as Cas fetched a water bottle from Sam's bag and handed it to Dean. Dean took long gulps, washing away all of the blood in his mouth. "Now do you believe me when I say that I want to keep you morons alive?"

Louise rolled her eyes but respect for Ruby started to sprout deep in her stomach. She'd saved Dean's life after they'd treated her like shit, so maybe Louise could at least pretend that she was a human being.

"You…saved my life," Dean admitted grudgingly.

"Don't mention it," Ruby said smugly, tossing him a shotgun.

"But what was what stuff? God, it tasted like ass."

"It's called witchcraft, short bus." Ruby turned and left, closing the door behind her.

"You're the short bus…short bus," Dean said, offended. Louise snickered.

"C'mon." She grabbed her shotgun. "I think I know where Sam and Adam went."

And it was a good thing that they arrived when they did, because the possessed woman – Astaroth – was about to crush Sam into the wall while the last living witch from the coven watched, petrified in terror, and Adam struggled to free himself from his invisible bonds. However, the minute they burst into the room, Astaroth simply waved her hand and sent her and Dean flying into the sofa and Cas into a bookshelf. When they got up, Astaroth pinned them to the wall behind them.

"So, this is the little angel with clipped wings that I've been hearing about?" Astaroth waved her hand and Cas groaned and doubled over. "Hell's been talking about you. Not so powerful now, are you?"

"Leave him alone!" Louise yelled. Astaroth smiled at her.

"Well, this really must be my lucky day. Azazel's champion, Hell's soon-to-be VIP, a fallen angel and probably the last nephil on Earth who shouldn't even be alive? Oh and the other Winchester."

Dean glowered at her.

"My, however did I get so lucky? Well, who wants to die first? How about you, Sam? Lilith doesn't like you very much. She doesn't want the competition, so why don't I help her out?"

She clenched her fist to crush Sam into the wall.

"Sam! Let him go!" Louise shouted. Astaroth just smiled sweetly.

"Wait!" Ruby appeared in the doorway, her arms raised in surrender. "Please. I just came to talk."

"Impressive. You made it out," Astaroth commented. "Bitch of a fight, right?"

"It's not every day a door out of Hell opens," Ruby shrugged.

"What do you want, Ruby?"

"I've been lost without you." She advanced on Astaroth. "Take me back. That's why I led the Winchesters here."

Dean looked at Sam angrily, while Louise growled and glared at Adam. What had she been thinking? Of course they couldn't trust Ruby!

"They're a gift for you," Ruby continued. "Please, let me serve you again. I've wanted it – I've wanted _you_ for so long."

"Get a room, you two," Louise muttered, feeling sick to her stomach. She did _not_ need to see any demon lovin'!

"You were one of my best," Astaroth said. The female demons stared at each other for a moment before Ruby pulled out her knife and tried to stab Astaroth. However, the other demon easily intercepted it. "But then again, you always were a lying whore."

The two demons began to fight. Ruby managed to get in a few kicks but Astaroth was clearly far more experienced and she kicked Ruby's ass to Hell and back.

"Do they know about you, Ruby?" Astaroth said, slapping the blonde across the face. "About how you whored yourself out to me all those centuries ago before I kicked you to the kerb? Do they know how much of a weak bitch you are? But don't worry, love. No secrets where you're going."

She began to chant something that drew Ruby's black essence out of her host's mouth. While the stronger demon was distracted, Louise concentrated on her invisible bonds and, with a bit of concentration, managed to break them. As she worked Cas' angel blade out of his trench coat, the terrified witch cowering in the corner suddenly ran to the altar and emptied a bunch of pins onto the demonic cloth.

"Hey!"

Astaroth turned and received a slash across the face. Howling, she held out her hand and let out a massive invisible attack to try and force Louise back into the wall but Louise concentrated as hard as she could on not flying back, though this left her distracted. In that brief moment, Astaroth kicked the angel blade out of her hand and punched her across the face.

"Louise!" Dean yelled. Louise tried in vain to get in a few punches but Astaroth was relentless, hitting and slapping and kicking her. The demon only stopped when the witch started to try and hex Astaroth by making her cough up pins. However, this was in vain; Astaroth simply raised her eyebrows and clenched a fist to kill the witch on the spot. In this moment of distraction, Louise held her hand out for the angel blade.

"Uh, uh, uh." Astaroth caught the blade and backhanded Louise across the face. Louise groaned as she fell to her knees, trying to force herself back to her feet. Her head was pounding, the world was spinning, her whole body was aching and Astaroth's presence was starting to make her feel sick.

"Let her go!" Sam demanded.

"I suppose I could." Astaroth grabbed Louise by the shirt and hauled her to her feet. Louise just sagged in the demon's grip, trying not to throw up. "But she attacked me. How can I just let that one slide?"

Louise tried to punch Astaroth but the demon easily batted her attack away. Astaroth raised the angel blade and Louise closed her eyes, preparing for her imminent (second) death, when –

"Hyah!" Even bruised and bloody, Ruby had still managed to grab her knife, push herself to her knees and plunge it into Astaroth's back. Astaroth's body lit up and jerked as the demon's essence began to burn and implode on itself and when Louise was released from her grip, she fell to the ground, wincing. Ruby smiled as Astaroth's body fell to the ground, stone dead.

"You're welcome," she said. "Now, go. I'll clean up this mess."

She looked away from them. Louise blinked. Was the demon…embarrassed?

"Ruby –" she began to say.

"Go!" Ruby snapped, her eyes turning black. Sam, Dean, Louise, Adam and Cas hastened to make their escape.

"Did she seem…I dunno…ashamed to you?" Louise murmured to Cas as they approached the Impala.

"Her past was revealed. Of course she would feel ashamed."

"Yeah but we already knew that stuff. She told us. So why'd she look like that before we left?"

"Maybe 'cause it was Astaroth telling us that stuff?" Adam said. "Maybe remembering that demons were human once makes them feel ashamed? So the fact that she told us even though she's embarrassed…"

"Fine," Louise sighed, opening the back door of the car. "Whatever, Adam. I'll lay off her."

-LW-

"You okay?" Adam said when Ruby showed up suddenly in the doorway of their room, her clothes clean and free of blood. Ruby just nodded shortly and waited for him to let her in.

"Hell of a night," Dean commented. Ruby raised her eyebrows. "How – how long ago? You know, when you –"

"Back when the plague was big news," Ruby replied.

"Fourteenth century?" Louise blinked in shock. "You're looking good for a seven hundred year old."

"Thanks," Ruby said dryly.

"Seven hundred is young for a demon," Cas said.

"Every demon was once human," Ruby said. "But you all knew that, didn't you?"

"Cas told us," Sam said. "Human souls go to Hell and become demons."

"If only it was that easy," Ruby laughed darkly. "They become demons because they forget what it _means_ to be human – or that they even were. That's what happens when you go to Hell. You forget who and what you are. Some demons are lucky enough to get away before they completely turn and they remember that they were human and what it feels like, even if they don't fully experience those emotions like before. But only a handful of those are ever lucky enough to live as demons with human morals – the rest of them go mad from bloodlust or confusion between their two halves. The half-sane ones usually claw their way out of Hell, pick a meat suit and lay low so that they don't get sent back – or, if they can't get out of Hell, they keep as low a profile as possible. Hell sees it as a failure on their half to completely corrupt those 'freak' demons, so they're butchered even worse than usual."

Louise felt sick to her stomach. Adam was pale and sweaty, his hands shaking in his lap.

"And – and are you one of those 'freaks'?" he said hoarsely. Ruby shrugged uncomfortably but didn't say anything, though the way her essence was sluggishly twisting spoke volumes.

"The answer's yes, by the way," she said. "The same thing will happen to you, Adam. Time passes slower in Hell so it might take centuries down there but sooner or later, Hell will win. It'll burn away your humanity – turn you into one of us unless you can escape before you start to enjoy inflicting pain and begin to forget yourself."

Adam began to shake all over. Louise quickly sat down next to him and pulled him into a hug.

"And there's no way of saving him?" she said desperately. He may have only been their little brother for eight months but he was still family!

"If you haven't found a way by now then I doubt it," Ruby said. She grimaced and reached out to ruffle Adam's hair. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I really thought they could help."

Louise's stomach sank.

"You don't know how to help him?" she said desperately to Cas.

"If I knew then I would have freed him by now," Cas said. Louise sighed apologetically.

"'S okay," Adam mumbled. "Kinda already knew it was a lost cause."

"So why are you still hanging around?" Dean said. "What more do you want from us?"

Ruby scowled.

"Hell wants Adam down there for a reason. I don't know what but the fact that they tried to get you down there in a year and then moved on to your half-brother tells me that something fishy's going on. I don't know what but I want to know. That's why I'm hanging around."

"'Cause we really know something," Louise muttered. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Why can't you accept that I'm here to help?"

"Because when do demons ever want to help?" Louise let go of Adam and jumped to her feet. "I'm sure you know how every demonic encounter we have turns out! They try to kill us! Azazel possessed Dean and killed Mom, Dad, Aunt Mary and Cas! Rachel possessed Meg and Sam! Tom possessed me! Adam's mother was killed twice! So I'm sorry if we find it a little difficult to trust you but what's one demon compared to a whole pit of them? How do we know that you genuinely want to help or if you've just got some devious plan cooked up and need us to trust you for it?"

Breathing heavily, she turned away. She jumped when Ruby's essence seemed to move closer and she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"For the same reason you trust Cas, even though the rest of his kind are grade-A douchebags and he screwed you over. You have to take a chance and hope that you're right. Stop judging me by what all the other demons did and take a look at what I've done for you. Hell wants my head on a platter. I'd have to have a hell of a reason to put myself on their most wanted list. And if Hell really needs Adam downstairs and I was with them, I could have let him die. I didn't have to save him and delay their plans for another year and bring him to you to see if you could help. I didn't have to decide to try and help Sam and his Lilith problem. I could have let Dean die tonight instead of saving him. I could have kept all of this information to myself but I chose to help you. I'm taking a chance on you guys, so why can't you do the same for me?"

Louise's stomach shifted. As much as she hated to admit it, Ruby was right. The demon had saved their asses time after time and taken so many risks for them, only to be treated like garbage by her and Dean and distrusted by Cas. Could she really be trying to help them? Or was this all part of her plan?

"I – I'm sorry," Louise finally said. "Thanks, Ruby. For everything. I really am grateful to you for saving our asses all these times and getting treated like shit for it. Just…give us some time, okay? You can't ask us to suddenly drop everything and trust you with the Holy Grail."

Ruby's lips twitched.

"I get it, Louise. I know it's hard to trust a demon but I really am trying to help."

She approached the door. Louise went to let her out and then fixed the salt line, thoughts and voices whizzing around in her head like crazy. What the hell were they supposed to do now?


	12. Federal Bureau of Idiocy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.
> 
> Before you get pissed at me for leaving out 'Mystery Spot', remember that that only happened because of Sam and his unnatural attachment to Dean. He's only known Adam for eight months, so he's not going to jump off the bandwagon and start going insane over Adam's death like he did with Dean. And because of that, there's no reason for Gabriel – who's trying not to draw attention to himself because they know who he is – to screw with them.

**Chapter 12. Federal Bureau of Idiocy**

"And remind me again why we're going to help Bela bitch?" Louise said grumpily as they sped towards Monument, Colorado. "You do realise she's going to screw us over in about twenty different ways, right? She tried to steal the Colt from us when she helped us with Bobby and the dream root! She just got unlucky 'cause we always keep it with us after the last time it got stolen…"

"Because if we can get her to owe us, we can use it later," Dean said. "I like the idea of Bela owing us…" He chuckled.

But Louise had been right not to trust Bela. When the phone rang in the abandoned room, Dean very gingerly picked it up.

"Dean? Sweetie, are you there?" Bela said.

"Where are you?" he demanded.

"Oh, here and there," Bela said mysteriously.

"What gives, Bela? We came to help you out of the goodness of our hearts and –"

"Please. I only know that you came so that I would owe you a favour. But honey, you are helping me."

"How?"

"Let's just say that in a few minutes, you'll be quite preoccupied with some friends of yours. That should give me enough time to find what I'm after and leave."

Suddenly, a squad of police officers burst into the room, their guns aimed at Sam, Dean, Louise, Adam and Cas. The five of them raised their hands, though Cas had to be prompted by Dean. Louise looked like she'd swallowed a lemon.

"Hands in the air!"

"Down on your knees!"

"Turn around now!"

Five police officers forced Sam, Dean, Louise, Adam and Cas to the ground, wrenching their arms behind them and cuffing their wrists.

"Sam, Dean and Louise Winchester and James Novak, you have the right to remain silent," an officer recited. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you at government expense."

"Why can't you just let me go?" Adam was pleading to his unforgiving captor. "I never had anything to do with whatever they did!"

When a pair of polished black shoes appeared in their line of sight, Sam, Dean and Louise looked up. Louise's stomach dropped.

"Hi, guys." The bald, brown, moustached face of Victor Henriksen wore a smug, triumphant smile. Louise groaned silently. Of course the obsessed FBI dude from back when they'd been framed for that bank heist had to come. "It's been a while."

-LW-

"What the hell's going on?" a panicky Adam said, his eyes darting around the prison cell. "What do they want with you? Why do they want _me_?"

"Remember that bank heist in Milwaukee?" Louise sighed, shifting around. They were all shackled to each other and her legs were beginning to fall asleep! "How we were wanted for that?"

"I never brought that up," Adam said, his eyes wide. "I thought it might've been a mistake or something! You guys wouldn't do something like that!"

"It was a shifter," Dean snapped. "Kept disguising itself and made it look like we pulled off the heist. That's what these douchebags want with us. They probably brought you in 'cause you were with us just before. Maybe figured we'd picked up an accomplice."

They shut up when Henriksen entered the cell hallway, his smart shoes echoing as he strode down towards their cell. He paused in front of them, examining them for a moment.

"You know what I'm trying to decide?" he finally said.

"Whether Cialis will help with that condition of yours?" Dean said. Louise snickered.

"I hear Viagra works like a charm," she put in.

"I don't understand," Cas said. Henriksen ignored them all.

"What to have for dinner tonight," he said. "Steak or lobster. What the hell? Surf and turf."

Louise just rolled her eyes and slumped on the ground. Her brothers had selfishly taken the small bed, leaving her to rest on the floor with Adam and Cas and her arms above her head due to her cuffs being attached to Sam and Dean's. Adam and Cas were lucky that she was taking the super uncomfortable position for them!

"I got a lot to celebrate," Henriksen continued. "I mean, seeing you lot in chains…"

"You kinky son of a bitch!" Dean said, shaking his head. "We don't swing that way."

"I'm pretty sure I can get you drawn up on sexual harassment for that one," Louise said, trying to cross her arms and failing. "Do you usually make women feel uncomfortable?"

"You two are hilarious," Henriksen said sarcastically.

Dean and Henriksen bantered back and forth but then Henriksen got the upper hand.

"You four are going to a Supermax prison in Nevada till trial. Isolated in a soundproof, windowless cell that, between you and me, is probably unconstitutional. Mr Milligan there's gonna get off way lighter but he's still going down with you. We can get him for the murder of his mother if we try."

The five of them realised that Henriksen was deadly serious. Louise swallowed nervously.

"Unconstitutional, eh? Can't you get in trouble for that? You know, FBI, having to follow the law and all…" But she knew that she wasn't funny and Henriksen could sense it too, judging from the predatory smile on his face.

"Take a good look around at each other cause you're never seeing each other again."

Dean tried to convince Henriksen that they were innocent but he just shook his head.

"Oh, I forgot, you fight monsters. I don't buy it. Truth is, your daddy brainwashed you and no doubt touched you in a bad place."

But bringing up John like that just pissed Dean right off.

"Shut your mouth," he hissed.

"Well, guess what? Life sucks. Everyone's got a sob story but not everyone becomes a killer." The sound of a helicopter approaching could be heard. "And now I have several less to worry about."

Louise didn't notice Henriksen's parting jab and his departure, instead scowling at the floor. Dean had been right in that dream of his back during the dream root case. It wasn't fair! All they ever did was fight monsters and save people and protect each other and live the crappiest of lives so that others could have good lives and this was their reward? If they ever got out of this, Louise was contemplating saying 'fuck it' and letting the world go to hell, just like Adam was going to in a few months.

"Never thought you'd go down like this, right?" Dean grinned shakily to Cas. "Mighty angel of the Lord, spending the rest of his life in human prison?"

Cas didn't say anything. From the faint vestiges of grace left in him, Louise could tell that the thought of being imprisoned for the rest of his life scared him and she felt conviction fill her. She wasn't going to let their angel rot in jail for something he didn't do! That couldn't be his defining experience with humanity!

"Fuck it," she growled. She concentrated on her cuffs and they began to slide open but when a guy in a suit arrived, she furiously had to abandon her attempt at freedom.

"Sam, Dean and Louise Winchester," he said. "Oh, and James Novak. I'm Deputy Director Steven Groves. This is a real pleasure. I've been waiting for you to come out of the woodwork for a long time."

The demonic presence oozing off him made Louise jerk upright. When he took out his gun and shot Dean in the shoulder, Louise let out an exclamation and thrust her hands out, sending Groves flying into the wall. However, he quickly came back for round two and when his eyes turned black, Sam quickly started an exorcism while grappling with him through the bars.

"Sorry, I've gotta cut this short," Groves said. "Buckle up, boys – and girl. It's gonna be a long night."

He threw his head back, screaming as the demon left him and disappeared into the air vent in the ceiling. A moment later, Henriksen and another two cops came running in.

"Put the gun down!" Cop 1 ordered Sam, who was holding Groves' gun.

"Okay! Wait!" Sam said.

"He shot him!" Cop 1 shouted, pointing at Groves.

"I didn't shoot anyone!" Sam said desperately.

" _He_ shot _me_!" Dean growled, glaring at Groves.

"Get on your knees! Now!" Henriksen barked.

"Okay, okay! Don't shoot! Please! Look." Sam pushed his gun through the bars. "We didn't shoot him. Check the body. There's no blood!"

Cop 2 confirmed that there were no wounds but when Dean tried to convince them that Groves had been possessed, Henriksen scoffed and ordered them to fire up the chopper, though all the cop got was a load of static from his radio.

"Again, why do we help people?" Louise said grumpily.

"Why don't you use your powers and get us free?" Dean said. "We're alone!"

"Because do you really think that demon was the only one?" Louise said. "They know where we are – they'll be coming by the dozen. Didn't you hear that static?"

"And?" Dean scoffed.

"And there's no way they'll let us leave," Sam said. "We're safest inside the station right now. If we try and get free, Henriksen'll probably do something even worse to us and we won't be able to fight."

Dean didn't look happy.

"I just wish we had the damn Colt!" he snapped. "And Cas' angel blade! They had to take them, didn't they?"

"They're probably in with all of the stuff they took from us," Adam said. "If one of us can just get free, go and get them and come back here…"

"Yeah, good plan," Louise said sarcastically. "Unfortunately, invisibility is not included in our psychic package, unless you or Dean are hiding something from us."

"But why would they come after us?" Dean said. "I mean, I know that we're just pure awesome –"

Louise rolled her eyes.

"– but they've never come after us before."

"Oh, I don't know," Sam snapped. "Who can we think of who wants to rip my innards out?"

"Lilith?" Louise said. "Would she really make a move like this?"

"If she held all of the advantages," Cas said. "And it appears that she does, unless we can convince the officers to release us."

Suddenly, the lights started to flicker. Louise cursed under her breath.

"That can't be good," Dean said grimly.

"We're fucked," Adam mumbled.

"At least we won't end up in max security?" Louise said. Adam rolled his eyes at her.

-LW-

While Sam helped Dean get the bullet out of his shoulder and used a small roll of toilet paper to mop up the blood, Louise flicked her chains aimlessly, Cas sat there stiffly and blankly and Adam hummed something under his breath, a fuming Henriksen stormed in.

"What's the plan?" he demanded. "Kill everyone in the station, bust you guys out?"

"What?" Louise said.

"Your psycho friends! They're gonna start a bloodbath!"

"Believe me, whoever's out there does _not_ want to save us," Dean said. They tried to convince Henriksen that they were in danger from demons but he snapped, threatened to shoot them and left. Louise went back to flicking her chains but when she looked up, she saw Nancy, the adorable secretary from in the office, peeking around a corner at them.

"Hey!" Louise whispered. Nancy backed away. "Look, please, we need your help…Nancy, right? Our brother's been shot and he's bleeding really badly. Please, can you just get us a towel? One clean towel, that's all I'm asking." Nancy still looked fearful. "Look, I swear, we're not the bad guys. Please. One towel?"

The girl just left.

"Nice plan, genius," Dean said. Louise rolled her eyes. But Nancy returned a moment later with a towel, which she tentatively stuck through the bars, and when Louise caught sight of the rosary dangling from Nancy's pocket, she smiled. Nancy smiled back hesitantly.

"Thanks," Louise said softly, taking the towel from Nancy. While Nancy was distracted, Louise flicked her finger and the rosary gently flew out of the girl's pocket and into Louise's hand. She quickly covered it with the towel.

"You're welcome," Nancy murmured before turning and running out of the holding cells.

"Here." Louise threw the towel at Dean and held up the rosary, smiling in triumph.

"You sly dog," Dean chuckled.

"Good thing I did have powers," Louise said. "Otherwise, I'd probably have just had to assault her and give her a heart attack. And I didn't want to do that. She was nice."

While Sam patched up Dean's wound, Louise kneeled over the tiny toilet and dangled the rosary over it.

" _Exorcizo te, creatura aquae. In nomine dei patris omnipotentis et in virtute spiritus sancti_ ," she murmured, dropping the rosary into the toilet. "I sure hope that this being toilet water doesn't cancel it out or else we're screwed."

"The quality of the water does not affect it once it becomes holy water," Cas said. Louise rolled her eyes at him. "Oh. That was a joke."

A little while later, a cop came in and told them to move it.

"Actually, I think we're perfectly fine here," Dean said quickly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Henriksen had appeared and he looked pissed.

"I'm not just gonna sit around and wait to die!" the cop said. "I'm making a run for it. There's a S.W.A.T. facility in Boulder."

"We're not going anywhere," Henriksen said firmly.

"The hell we're not!" the cop protested. In response, Henriksen took out his gun and shot the cop in the head. Sam and Dean immediately leapt into action, disarming Henriksen, and while Sam shoved his head into the toilet and began to recite an exorcism, Dean covered the other cop and Nancy with Henriksen's gun and Louise quickly undid their cuffs.

With one last scream, Henriksen's mouth ejected black smoke, which flew away out of the holding area. Nancy and the cop stared at the body of Henriksen in the cell.

"Is – is he dead?" Nancy stammered. Henriksen coughed and sat up before getting to his feet and sinking down on the bed, staring at his hands with wide eyes.

"I – I shot the sheriff," he said shakily.

"But you didn't shoot the deputy," Dean grinned. Louise slapped him across the head.

"I was fine five minutes ago," Henriksen said disbelievingly. "And then…"

"Some nasty black smoke forced its way down your throat?" Louise guessed.

"You were possessed," Sam said. "That's what it feels like. We'd know."

"We owe you the biggest 'I told you so' ever," Adam said as Dean gave Henriksen back his gun. Louise sighed, wishing that Adam hadn't turned out so much like Dean.

"Officer Amici," Henriksen said. "Keys."

But when he went to undo the cuffs and found that they were already undone, he stared.

"Erm…I'm psychic?" Louise grinned guiltily at the stunned looks on Henriksen, Amici and Nancy's faces. "Oh and thanks for this, Nancy." She waved her hand to lift the rosary out of the toilet bowl and she caught it and threw it to Nancy. Nancy looked stunned and disgusted.

"You could've gotten free before but you didn't," Henriksen said. "Why?"

"Truth is, I tried," Louise shrugged. "But then demon Groves came in and we realised that the demons would never let us get away from here and if you caught us, you'd just do something that would make it harder to defend ourselves."

"Looks like we were right," Sam said, gesturing to Henriksen.

"Alright. You say they're coming for us. How do we survive?" the shaken FBI officer asked.

"First off, you can get us that nice old Colt revolver and that shiny silver sword you took from us," Dean said. "Those things can kill anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

Amici went to get the Colt and Cas' blade, while the others returned to the office to prepare. The sound of scuffling could be heard and when Amici came in with the Colt and blade, he also brought an added extra.

"Bela. How absolutely horrible to see you," Dean said with an ugly smile.


	13. You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own SPN.
> 
> I actually happen to like Bela to a degree. However, Louise loathes her and since this is from her POV…well, she won't be grovelling at Bela's feet.
> 
> Also, I've got all of the third fic written but interest in this has plummeted since the first fic. So I don't think I'll be continuing the series after this fic. Between my daily prompts and my own novel, I only have so much energy for writing and if I'm honest, I'm not putting half as much effort into this series as I could. So…yeah.

**Chapter 13. You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison**

"You know her?" Amici said.

"Get your hands off me!" Bela demanded.

"Unfortunately." Louise glared at Bela. "We've crossed paths. You tipped these guys off, didn't you?"

"I just needed you out of the way while I got what I needed," Bela said, crossing her arms.

"And what's that?"

"She was trying to get away with this." Amici threw the Colt to Dean, who caught it with a grimace. Cas held his hand out for his blade, which Amici handed to him after a moment.

"Oh. Real nice," Louise laughed darkly. "So you tried to steal the Colt – one of the only things that can possibly help us in this demon war and save thousands of lives – and sell it to the highest bidder? How selfish can you be?"

"You know nothing about me!" Bela snapped.

"Well, looks like you're stuck here with us," Dean said as Nancy began to tend to his wound. "Get comfortable, sweetheart. It's gonna be a long night."

-LW-

In preparation for the siege, Sam, Adam, Cas and Louise spray-painted Devil's Traps on the floor, while Dean cocked the Colt and cursed at how few bullets they had with them and Bela sat in a corner, not talking to anyone. Henriksen and Amici were preparing guns and weapons.

"Nice stash," Dean said. "Not gonna do much good, though."

"But we got a whole arsenal here!" Amici said.

"Yeah and it's like poking a bear with a BB gun," Dean retorted. "You just don't do it. This thing here?" He waved the Colt. "This is the only gun in the world that can kill demons." He smiled smugly at Bela, who scowled.

"And Cas' blade can ice them too," Adam piped up.

"Don't even think about it," Louise snapped when she caught Bela eyeing the blade with a greedy eye. "Okay, we need salt."

"Salt?" Amici said.

"Yes, salt. Keeps the demons out."

"There's salt in the storeroom," Nancy piped up.

"Good," Dean said. "We need salt at every window and door."

Henriksen and Amici went to fetch the salt.

"Hey, where's my car?" Dean said when they came back with the salt.

"Impound lot out back. You're not seriously going out there?"

"I've gotta get stuff out of the trunk," Dean said, standing up.

"You want me to come with you?" Louise said. "If they jump you when you're outside –"

"I'll be fine, Lou. Be back in a moment."

When he was gone, awkward silence descended on the room.

"So," Henriksen said. "James. What's your connection to these guys? What the hell were you doing at the heist with them?"

"Which we were totally framed for," Louise put in. "By a shifter. Same with the St Louis thing."

Amici looked ready to faint.

"They are my friends," Cas said. "And I am not Jimmy Novak. I am Castiel, an angel of the Lord. Or at least, I used to be."

Nancy made a high-pitched sound, her hand flying to her cross. Bela's eyes were fixed firmly on Cas.

"An angel?" Nancy squeaked.

"Until I rebelled against Heaven and started to fall," Cas said bitterly. "Now, I am hardly more than human."

"Angels are dickbags, by the way," Adam said.

"So what's with the face?" Henriksen said.

"Jimmy is – was – my vessel. His soul is now in Heaven but I remain in his body."

"So his wife and daughter –"

"Killed by demons," Adam said. "Same as my mom. Twice. First time around, I made a deal to bring her back and I'd go to Hell in a year. Then they killed her again and screwed me over, so I found these guys. My half-brothers and sister."

"Technically, cousin to all the boys," Louise said when Henriksen opened his mouth. "But who cares about biological details?"

"And you're still going to Hell?" It was the first time that Bela had spoken in a while and everybody jumped, having forgotten that she was there.

"Yep," Adam said sourly. "I wouldn't have gone looking for help if they'd left my mom alone and not screwed around with me."

Bela grimaced. Louise wondered why she was so interested all of a sudden.

"Any particular reason for your…powers?" Henriksen said to Louise. The brunette jerked her head at Bela.

"None that I'm willing to say in front of her."

Bela rolled her eyes.

"Sweetie, I could probably find out in five minutes with the right contacts."

"You do that. But I'm not just blabbing all of my secrets in front of you, _honey_."

Louise's senses suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree and she clutched at her head, groaning.

"I think they're here," she muttered to everyone else as they stared at her. At that moment, Dean burst into the room.

"They're coming!" he yelled. The next moment, the building was assaulted by a thick cloud of black smoke which messed around with the lights. Dean threw guns to Sam, Louise, Adam and Bela (though reluctantly) and cocked the Colt, while Cas gripped his angel blade tightly. The initial attack was over in a moment.

"Everyone okay?" Sam said as Dean handed out anti-possession charms.

"Define 'okay'," Henriksen said. Louise snorted, finding herself liking the man more and more.

"What about you guys? Don't you need charms?" Nancy said. In response, Sam, Dean, Louise and Adam showed their protection tattoos (Adam having gotten his not long after first meeting them).

"I am still angel enough that a demon would find it very difficult to possess me," Cas said. "I could throw them out with a thought."

"Just do it," Louise said. "For our sake of minds?"

Cas sighed and accepted a charm from Dean, looping the chain over his head and tucking it beneath his collar. Louise noticed another charm on Bela, meaning that she didn't need one from Dean, but she just shrugged. Bela would be Bela and she couldn't be bothered arguing about it now.

When a large mob of black-eyed people appeared outside the station, they suddenly realised why the demons had given up their attack. Louise growled and tightened her grip on her gun. In preparation for the attack, she, Dean and Henriksen began to fill shotgun shells with salt. Dean and Henriksen, surprisingly, had a civil conversation and Louise was shocked when they learned that Henriksen's life wasn't all that much different to theirs.

"Busted my ass for fifteen years in this job and I only saved a handful of people," Henriksen sighed. "And all this time, there's something massive off in the corner. So sign me up for that big, frosty mug of wasting my damn life."

"You didn't know," Louise said. "And it's probably better that you didn't. Knowing this stuff bites."

The sound of shattering glass caught their attention and the three of them ran into the next room, where a window with a broken salt line had been smashed. Sam, Bela, Cas and Adam were already there, their weapons ready, and Nancy and Amici hovered behind.

"How do we kill her?" Henriksen said, his gun aimed at the blonde in the Devil's Trap.

"We don't," Sam said. "She's here to help." He went to break the Devil's Trap.

"Are you serious?" Bela said. "You're actually working with _demons_? And here I thought you Winchesters could sink no lower…"

"I know," Ruby sighed, stepping out of the broken Trap. "Our three kinds, working together. Sounds like a bad joke, right?"

"Get to the point," Louise said. "What are you doing here? Isn't Hell gunning for you and everything?"

"Yep," Ruby said, popping the 'p'. "You gonna fix that?"

She pointed at the Devil's Trap. Sam quickly fixed the broken line.

"Good. Now, does anyone have a breath mint? Some guts splattered in my mouth while I was killing my way in here."

Louise rolled her eyes as they followed her to the main office.

"So, how many are there?" Dean said.

"At least thirty," Ruby said. "And that's if they don't send reinforcements."

"Well, someone really hates our guts," Louise said dryly. "Gee, who could possibly want to kill us all?"

"It couldn't possibly be Lilith, could it?" Sam said sarcastically. Louise thought that she saw Bela react at the name but since no one else noticed, she shrugged it off.

"Who the hell is Lilith?" Henriksen said.

"Some top notch demon bitch who wants Sam dead and who holds Adam's contract," Louise said. "We can't actually find her to kill her or we would've by now, since that's the only way we can think of saving Adam."

"Well," Ruby said, "if you want any chance of surviving, I suggest you get that Colt and blade ready."

"But – wait!" Nancy spoke up. "If you shoot them with that gun will – will the person survive?"

"Sorry, sweetcheeks, but no," Ruby said. "You damage a demon's meat suit and they don't heal, the person dies when the demon leaves. And a demon can't really heal their meat suit when they're dead."

"But those are my friends! There has to be another way!"

"Well, I know a spell. It'll vaporise every demon in a one-mile radius, me included."

"What do we need to do?" Dean said.

" _You_ can't do anything," Ruby smirked. "The spell needs a person of virtue."

"A virgin?" Adam laughed. "Come on, who here could possibly be a virgin?"

Louise shifted uncomfortably. Adam stared at her.

"No way."

"What?" Louise snapped. "I never liked that crap, okay?"

Ruby and Cas, meanwhile, were staring at Nancy, who was fidgeting.

"You too?" Dean exclaimed. "You're – you never –"

"What can we do to help?" Nancy said to Ruby.

"One of you can hold still while we cut out your heart," Ruby replied. Immediately, everyone began to argue.

"Alright, SHUT UP!" Louise bellowed. Everybody fell silent and she turned to Ruby, her heart pounding. "This'll really work?"

"Lou –"

"Shut it, Dean. I've already died once and I shouldn't be alive, so it may as well be me rather than an innocent girl."

"Nobody's killing anybody! We don't sacrifice people or we're no better than them!"

"Hey, I was just offering a solution," Ruby said, holding her hands up. "What do you propose?"

"He's an angel," Bela said, nodding at Cas. "Why can't he flap us out of here?"

"Did you not listen to the part where I said that I was fallen and not much of an angel anymore?" Cas said, his voice dripping with contempt. "Louise would have a better chance than me and she can't teleport or fly."

"We could stay and try to exorcise all the demons," Sam said. "And while we're fighting, you guys can sneak out."

"We're not leaving you lot to fight for your lives!" Henriksen said firmly. Amici and Nancy nodded.

"And just what do you think will happen if one escapes?" Ruby said. "If even one demon gets out of here and goes running back to Lilith, what do you think will happen to anyone still here?"

"Dammit," Louise muttered. "So even if you do get us out of here, Lilith might turn up?"

"I say we let her," Dean said. He held up the Colt. "We got the Colt and Cas has his blade. We just empty a few shells into the bitch, gank her like any other demon. Adam's free from his contract, no more bitch demon, everyone wins."

"What part of 'first demon' and 'unimaginable power' do you not get?" Ruby said incredulously.  
"There's no way in hell you could ever beat Lilith."

"I have a plan," Bela spoke up. Everyone immediately shut up. "Since you soft-hearted idiots are so determined to save these people, I think I know what to do."

"And why would we trust a plan of yours?" Louise spat.

"Because I'm going to be stuck here fighting as well!" Bela snapped. "Why would I come up with a plan that would endanger myself too?"

"Alright then, what's your plan?" Amici said.

"Open the doors. Let them all in. And fight for our lives."

" _Excuse_ me?" everyone but Cas said.

"I thought you had a plan!" Sam said. But Cas was nodding thoughtfully.

"It could work," she said. "We could put a recorded exorcism on the loudspeaker, wait for all of the demons to enter and then stop them leaving before playing it."

"But did you miss the part where they'd be trying to _kill_ us?" Adam exclaimed.

"They're gonna try and kill us no matter what," Dean pointed out. "I hate to agree with the bitch but Bela's right."

"Thanks," Bela said sarcastically.

"Well, don't expect me to hang around in here," Ruby said, standing up.

"So nice of you to help us out, demon," Bela said acidly.

"You're planning on _exorcising_ everyone, genius," Ruby said in an equally corrosive voice. "What the hell do you think is gonna happen to me? If you're really that hell-bent on this plan – and I personally think that running them all through with Cas' shiny or shooting them with the Colt is a better plan – then I'll stay outside and shiv anyone who tries to escape."

"Thanks, Ruby," Adam said. Ruby smiled and ruffled his hair.

"You're lucky I got a soft spot for you guys, kiddo. Now, can you let me out?"

"We're gonna try and save as many people as we can," Louise said to Nancy. "But some are gonna get shot or stabbed. We can't help that."

"Just…try and save them?" Nancy said desperately. Louise sighed and nodded, wishing that she had the girl's innocence.


End file.
